Here we will be examining lexical diversity using common type token ratio metrics from the Quanteda package. We will apply these metrics to several of the Harry Potter novels. When I read through the series, I was struck by how much JK Rowling’s writing improved over time. One way to quantify these changes is to test whether the author used a greater variety of words over time. It appears that in order to get all the texts read into R an Quanteda, we need to collapse the texts. We also need to deal with the fact that each chapter is partitioned as a separate document.
Luckily, all of the texts are available in [Bradley Boemke’s ‘harrypotter’ package] (https://github.com/bradleyboehmke/harrypotterpackage).
Note that there are two ‘harrypotter’ packages out there on the internets. To snag the correct one, use this code snippet: devtools::install_github(“bradleyboehmke/harrypotter”)
Link to a description of TTR measures in Quanteda here
philosophers_stone: Generate analytics. In the UK, this was published in 1997 as the Philosopher’s Stone. The version known to Americans is the Sorcerer’s Stone. In the ‘harrypotter’ package, call the philosophers_stone.
## [1] "THE BOY WHO LIVED Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet"
## [2] "Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you"
## [3] "very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in"
## [4] "anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such"
## [5] "nonsense. Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings,"
## [6] "which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck,"
## [7] "although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and"
## [8] "blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in"
## [9] "very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden"
## [10] "fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called"
## [11] "Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere. The"
## [12] "Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and"
## [13] "their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't"
## [14] "think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. Mrs."
## [15] "Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several"
## [16] "years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister,"
## [17] "because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as"
## [18] "unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think"
## [19] "what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The"
## [20] "Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never"
## [21] "even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters"
## [22] "away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that. When"
## [23] "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story"
## [24] "starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that"
## [25] "strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the"
## [26] "country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for"
## [27] "work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a"
## [28] "screaming Dudley into his high chair. None of them noticed a large,"
## [29] "tawny owl flutter past the window. At half past eight, Mr. Dursley"
## [30] "picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to"
## [31] "kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a"
## [32] "tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. \"Little tyke,\" chortled"
## [33] "Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of"
## [34] "number four's drive. It was on the corner of the street that he"
## [35] "noticed the first sign of something peculiar -- a cat reading a map."
## [36] "For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen -- then he"
## [37] "jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on"
## [38] "the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could"
## [39] "he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr."
## [40] "Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley"
## [41] "drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his"
## [42] "mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive -- no,"
## [43] "looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs. Mr. Dursley gave"
## [44] "himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove"
## [45] "toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was"
## [46] "hoping to get that day. But on the edge of town, drills were driven"
## [47] "out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning"
## [48] "traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of"
## [49] "strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. Mr. Dursley couldn't"
## [50] "bear people who dressed in funny clothes -- the getups you saw on young"
## [51] "people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his"
## [52] "fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these"
## [53] "weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly"
## [54] "together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't"
## [55] "young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an"
## [56] "emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley"
## [57] "that this was probably some silly stunt -- these people were obviously"
## [58] "collecting for something... yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on"
## [59] "and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking"
## [60] "lot, his mind back on drills. Mr. Dursley always sat with his back"
## [61] "to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might"
## [62] "have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't"
## [63] "see the owls swoop ing past in broad daylight, though people down in"
## [64] "the street did; they pointed and gazed open- mouthed as owl after owl"
## [65] "sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime."
## [66] "Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He"
## [67] "yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone"
## [68] "calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until"
## [69] "lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the"
## [70] "road to buy himself a bun from the bakery. He'd forgotten all about"
## [71] "the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the"
## [72] "baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but"
## [73] "they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he"
## [74] "couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them,"
## [75] "clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what"
## [76] "they were saying. \"The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard"
## [77] "yes, their son, Harry\" Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him."
## [78] "He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to"
## [79] "them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road,"
## [80] "hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him,"
## [81] "seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number"
## [82] "when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his"
## [83] "mustache, thinking... no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an"
## [84] "unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who"
## [85] "had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his"
## [86] "nephew was called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy. It might have"
## [87] "been Harvey. Or Harold. There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley;"
## [88] "she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame"
## [89] "her -- if he'd had a sister like that... but all the same, those people"
## [90] "in cloaks... He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that"
## [91] "afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still"
## [92] "so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the"
## [93] "door. \"Sorry,\" he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost"
## [94] "fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was"
## [95] "wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost"
## [96] "knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide"
## [97] "smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, \"Don't"
## [98] "be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for"
## [99] "You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be"
## [100] "celebrating, this happy, happy day!\" And the old man hugged Mr."
## [101] "Dursley around the middle and walked off. Mr. Dursley stood rooted"
## [102] "to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought"
## [103] "he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He"
## [104] "hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining"
## [105] "things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of"
## [106] "imagination. As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the"
## [107] "first thing he saw -- and it didn't improve his mood -- was the tabby"
## [108] "cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall."
## [109] "He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its"
## [110] "eyes. \"Shoo!\" said Mr. Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It just"
## [111] "gave him a stern look. Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley"
## [112] "wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the"
## [113] "house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his"
## [114] "wife. Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over"
## [115] "dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how"
## [116] "Dudley had learned a new word (\"Won't!\"). Mr. Dursley tried to act"
## [117] "normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room"
## [118] "in time to catch the last report on the evening news: \"And finally,"
## [119] "bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been"
## [120] "behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and"
## [121] "are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings"
## [122] "of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are"
## [123] "unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping"
## [124] "pattern.\" The newscaster allowed himself a grin. \"Most mysterious. And"
## [125] "now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more"
## [126] "showers of owls tonight, Jim?\" \"Well, Ted,\" said the weatherman, \"I"
## [127] "don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting"
## [128] "oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have"
## [129] "been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised"
## [130] "yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people"
## [131] "have been celebrating Bonfire Night early -- it's not until next week,"
## [132] "folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight.\" Mr. Dursley sat"
## [133] "frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by"
## [134] "daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a"
## [135] "whisper, a whisper about the Potters... Mrs. Dursley came into the"
## [136] "living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say"
## [137] "something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. \"Er -- Petunia, dear"
## [138] "-- you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?\" As he had"
## [139] "expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they"
## [140] "normally pretended she didn't have a sister. \"No,\" she said sharply."
## [141] "\"Why?\" \"Funny stuff on the news,\" Mr. Dursley mumbled. \"Owls..."
## [142] "shooting stars... and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town"
## [143] "today...\" \"So?\" snapped Mrs. Dursley. \"Well, I just thought..."
## [144] "maybe... it was something to do with... you know... her crowd.\" Mrs."
## [145] "Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered"
## [146] "whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name \"Potter.\" He decided he"
## [147] "didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, \"Their son --"
## [148] "he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?\" \"I suppose so,\" said"
## [149] "Mrs. Dursley stiffly. \"What's his name again? Howard, isn't"
## [150] "it?\" \"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me.\" \"Oh, yes,\" said"
## [151] "Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. \"Yes, I quite agree.\" He"
## [152] "didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed."
## [153] "While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the"
## [154] "bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still"
## [155] "there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for"
## [156] "something. Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to"
## [157] "do with the Potters? If it did... if it got out that they were related"
## [158] "to a pair of -- well, he didn't think he could bear it. The Dursleys"
## [159] "got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay"
## [160] "awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought"
## [161] "before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there"
## [162] "was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters"
## [163] "knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their"
## [164] "kind.... He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in"
## [165] "anything that might be going on -- he yawned and turned over -- it"
## [166] "couldn't affect them.... How very wrong he was. Mr. Dursley might"
## [167] "have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall"
## [168] "outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a"
## [169] "statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive."
## [170] "It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street,"
## [171] "nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight"
## [172] "before the cat moved at all. A man appeared on the corner the cat"
## [173] "had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought"
## [174] "he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its"
## [175] "eyes narrowed. Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet"
## [176] "Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his"
## [177] "hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He"
## [178] "was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and"
## [179] "high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and"
## [180] "sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and"
## [181] "crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name"
## [182] "was Albus Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that"
## [183] "he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his"
## [184] "boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for"
## [185] "something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he"
## [186] "looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the"
## [187] "other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed"
## [188] "to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, \"I should have known.\" He"
## [189] "found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a"
## [190] "silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air,"
## [191] "and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He"
## [192] "clicked it again -- the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times"
## [193] "he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole"
## [194] "street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of"
## [195] "the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even"
## [196] "beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was"
## [197] "happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back"
## [198] "inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where"
## [199] "he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but"
## [200] "after a moment he spoke to it. \"Fancy seeing you here, Professor"
## [201] "McGonagall.\" He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone."
## [202] "Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing"
## [203] "square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around"
## [204] "its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair"
## [205] "was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. \"How did"
## [206] "you know it was me?\" she asked. \"My dear Professor, I 've never seen"
## [207] "a cat sit so stiffly.\" \"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a"
## [208] "brick wall all day,\" said Professor McGonagall. \"All day? When you"
## [209] "could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and"
## [210] "parties on my way here.\" Professor McGonagall sniffed"
## [211] "angrily. \"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right,\" she said"
## [212] "impatiently. \"You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no -- even"
## [213] "the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news.\""
## [214] "She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. \"I"
## [215] "heard it. Flocks of owls... shooting stars.... Well, they're not"
## [216] "completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars"
## [217] "down in Kent -- I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much"
## [218] "sense.\" \"You can't blame them,\" said Dumbledore gently. \"We've had"
## [219] "precious little to celebrate for eleven years.\" \"I know that,\" said"
## [220] "Professor McGonagall irritably. \"But that's no reason to lose our"
## [221] "heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad"
## [222] "daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors.\" She"
## [223] "threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he"
## [224] "was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. \"A fine"
## [225] "thing it would be if, on the very day YouKnow-Who seems to have"
## [226] "disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he"
## [227] "really has gone, Dumbledore?\" \"It certainly seems so,\" said"
## [228] "Dumbledore. \"We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a"
## [229] "lemon drop?\" \"A what?\" \"A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle"
## [230] "sweet I'm rather fond of\" \"No, thank you,\" said Professor McGonagall"
## [231] "coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops."
## [232] "\"As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone -\" \"My dear Professor,"
## [233] "surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All"
## [234] "this 'You- Know-Who' nonsense -- for eleven years I have been trying to"
## [235] "persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort.\" Professor"
## [236] "McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon"
## [237] "drops, seemed not to notice. \"It all gets so confusing if we keep"
## [238] "saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of"
## [239] "saying Voldemort's name. \"I know you haven 't, said Professor"
## [240] "McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. \"But you're"
## [241] "different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right,"
## [242] "Voldemort, was frightened of.\" \"You flatter me,\" said Dumbledore"
## [243] "calmly. \"Voldemort had powers I will never have.\" \"Only because"
## [244] "you're too -- well -- noble to use them.\" \"It's lucky it's dark. I"
## [245] "haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new"
## [246] "earmuffs.\" Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and"
## [247] "said, \"The owls are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around."
## [248] "You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what"
## [249] "finally stopped him?\" It seemed that Professor McGonagall had"
## [250] "reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she"
## [251] "had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor"
## [252] "as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she"
## [253] "did now. It was plain that whatever \"everyone\" was saying, she was not"
## [254] "going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore,"
## [255] "however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer. \"What"
## [256] "they're saying,\" she pressed on, \"is that last night Voldemort turned"
## [257] "up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that"
## [258] "Lily and James Potter are -- are -- that they're -- dead."
## [259] "\" Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped. \"Lily"
## [260] "and James... I can't believe it... I didn't want to believe it... Oh,"
## [261] "Albus...\" Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. \"I"
## [262] "know... I know...\" he said heavily. Professor McGonagall's voice"
## [263] "trembled as she went on. \"That's not all. They're saying he tried to"
## [264] "kill the Potter's son, Harry. But -- he couldn't. He couldn't kill that"
## [265] "little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he"
## [266] "couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke -- and"
## [267] "that's why he's gone. Dumbledore nodded glumly. \"It's -- it's"
## [268] "true?\" faltered Professor McGonagall. \"After all he's done... all the"
## [269] "people he's killed... he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just"
## [270] "astounding... of all the things to stop him... but how in the name of"
## [271] "heaven did Harry survive?\" \"We can only guess,\" said Dumbledore. \"We"
## [272] "may never know.\" Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief"
## [273] "and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great"
## [274] "sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was"
## [275] "a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little"
## [276] "planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to"
## [277] "Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said,"
## [278] "\"Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the"
## [279] "way?\" \"Yes,\" said Professor McGonagall. \"And I don't suppose you're"
## [280] "going to tell me why you're here, of all places?\" \"I've come to"
## [281] "bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left"
## [282] "now.\" \"You don't mean -- you can't mean the people who live here?\""
## [283] "cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number"
## [284] "four. \"Dumbledore -- you can't. I've been watching them all day. You"
## [285] "couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son"
## [286] "-- I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming"
## [287] "for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!\" \"It's the best place"
## [288] "for him,\" said Dumbledore firmly. \"His aunt and uncle will be able to"
## [289] "explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a"
## [290] "letter.\" \"A letter?\" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting"
## [291] "back down on the wall. \"Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain"
## [292] "all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be"
## [293] "famous -- a legend -- I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as"
## [294] "Harry Potter day in the future -- there will be books written about"
## [295] "Harry -- every child in our world will know his name!\" \"Exactly,\""
## [296] "said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon"
## [297] "glasses. \"It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he"
## [298] "can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! CarA"
## [299] "you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that"
## [300] "until he's ready to take it?\" Professor McGonagall opened her mouth,"
## [301] "changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, \"Yes -- yes, you're right,"
## [302] "of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?\" She eyed his"
## [303] "cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry"
## [304] "underneath it. \"Hagrid's bringing him.\" \"You think it -- wise --"
## [305] "to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?\" I would trust"
## [306] "Hagrid with my life,\" said Dumbledore. \"I'm not saying his heart"
## [307] "isn't in the right place,\" said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, \"but"
## [308] "you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to -- what was"
## [309] "that?\" A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It"
## [310] "grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some"
## [311] "sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the"
## [312] "sky -- and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road"
## [313] "in front of them. If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the"
## [314] "man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and"
## [315] "at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed,"
## [316] "and so wild - long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of"
## [317] "his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in"
## [318] "their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms"
## [319] "he was holding a bundle of blankets. \"Hagrid,\" said Dumbledore,"
## [320] "sounding relieved. \"At last. And where did you get that"
## [321] "motorcycle?\" \"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sit,\" said the"
## [322] "giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. \"Young Sirius"
## [323] "Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir.\" \"No problems, were"
## [324] "there?\" \"No, sir -- house was almost destroyed, but I got him out"
## [325] "all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as"
## [326] "we was flyin' over Bristol.\" Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall"
## [327] "bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a"
## [328] "baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead"
## [329] "they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning. \"Is"
## [330] "that where -?\" whispered Professor McGonagall. \"Yes,\" said"
## [331] "Dumbledore. \"He'll have that scar forever.\" \"Couldn't you do"
## [332] "something about it, Dumbledore?\" \"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars"
## [333] "can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a"
## [334] "perfect map of the London Underground. Well -- give him here, Hagrid --"
## [335] "we'd better get this over with.\" Dumbledore took Harry in his arms"
## [336] "and turned toward the Dursleys' house. \"Could I -- could I say"
## [337] "good-bye to him, sir?\" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head"
## [338] "over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery"
## [339] "kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded"
## [340] "dog. \"Shhh!\" hissed Professor McGonagall, \"you'll wake the"
## [341] "Muggles!\" \"S-s-sorry,\" sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted"
## [342] "handkerchief and burying his face in it. \"But I c-c-can't stand it --"
## [343] "Lily an' James dead -- an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles"
## [344] "-\" \"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid,"
## [345] "or we'll be found,\" Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid"
## [346] "gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and"
## [347] "walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a"
## [348] "letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then"
## [349] "came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood"
## [350] "and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor"
## [351] "McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually"
## [352] "shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out. \"Well,\" said"
## [353] "Dumbledore finally, \"that's that. We've no business staying here. We"
## [354] "may as well go and join the celebrations.\" \"Yeah,\" said Hagrid in a"
## [355] "very muffled voice, \"I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night,"
## [356] "Professor McGonagall -- Professor Dumbledore, sir.\" Wiping his"
## [357] "streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the"
## [358] "motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into"
## [359] "the air and off into the night. \"I shall see you soon, I expect,"
## [360] "Professor McGonagall,\" said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor"
## [361] "McGonagall blew her nose in reply. Dumbledore turned and walked back"
## [362] "down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver"
## [363] "Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to"
## [364] "their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he"
## [365] "could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end"
## [366] "of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of"
## [367] "number four. \"Good luck, Harry,\" he murmured. He turned on his heel"
## [368] "and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone. A breeze ruffled the"
## [369] "neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky"
## [370] "sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen."
## [371] "Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One"
## [372] "small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing"
## [373] "he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be"
## [374] "woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the"
## [375] "front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the"
## [376] "next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley... He"
## [377] "couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all"
## [378] "over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed"
## [379] "voices: \"To Harry Potter -- the boy who lived!"
## document TTR C R CTTR U S K
## 1 1 0.07908686 0.7746403 22.02182 15.57178 21.69642 0.8391039 70.21546
## I D Vm Maas lgV0 lgeV0
## 1 0.8909208 0.007008739 0.08281586 0.2146871 5.989231 13.79071
## document MATTR
## 1 1 0.5275775
chamber_of_secrets
order up!
## [1] "THE WORST BIRTHDAY Not for the first time, an argument had broken"
## [2] "out over breakfast at number four, Privet Drive. Mr. Vernon Dursley had"
## [3] "been woken in the early hours of the morning by a loud, hooting noise"
## [4] "from his nephew Harry's room. \"Third time this week!\" he roared"
## [5] "across the table. \"If you can't control that owl, it'll have to"
## [6] "go!\" Harry tried, yet again, to explain. \"She's bored,\" he said."
## [7] "\"She's used to flying around outside. If I could just let her out at"
## [8] "night -\" \"Do I look stupid?\" snarled Uncle Vernon, a bit of fried"
## [9] "egg dangling from his bushy mustache. \"I know what'll happen if that"
## [10] "owl's let out.\" He exchanged dark looks with his wife,"
## [11] "Petunia. Harry tried to argue back but his words were drowned by a"
## [12] "long, loud belch from the Dursleys' son, Dudley. 1 \"I want more"
## [13] "bacon.\" \"There's more in the frying pan, sweetums,\" said Aunt"
## [14] "Petunia, turning misty eyes on her massive son. \"We must build you up"
## [15] "while we've got the chance .... I don't like the sound of that school"
## [16] "food ......\" \"Nonsense, Petunia, I never went hungry when I was at"
## [17] "Smeltings,\" said Uncle Vernon heartily. \"Dudley gets enough, don't you,"
## [18] "son?\" Dudley, who was so large his bottom drooped over either side"
## [19] "of the kitchen chair, grinned and turned to Harry. \"Pass the frying"
## [20] "pan.\" \"You've forgotten the magic word,\" said Harry"
## [21] "irritably. The effect of this simple sentence on the rest of the"
## [22] "family was incredible: Dudley gasped and fell off his chair with a"
## [23] "crash that shook the whole kitchen; Mrs. Dursley gave a small scream"
## [24] "and clapped her hands to her mouth; Mr. Dursley jumped to his feet,"
## [25] "veins throbbing in his temples. \"I meant `please'!\" said Harry"
## [26] "quickly. \"I didn't mean -\" \"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU,\" thundered his"
## [27] "uncle, spraying spit over the table, \"ABOUT SAYING THE `M' WORD IN OUR"
## [28] "HOUSE?\" \"But I -\" \"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN DUDLEY!\" roared Uncle"
## [29] "Vernon, pounding the table with his fist. \"I just -\" \"I WARNED"
## [30] "YOU! I WILL NOT TOLERATE MENTION OF YOUR ABNORMALITY UNDER THIS"
## [31] "ROOF!\" Harry stared from his purple-faced uncle to his pale aunt,"
## [32] "who was trying to heave Dudley to his feet. \"All right,\" said Harry,"
## [33] "\"all right. . . \" Uncle Vernon sat back down, breathing like a"
## [34] "winded rhinoceros and watching Harry closely out of the corners of his"
## [35] "small, sharp eyes. Ever since Harry had come home for the summer"
## [36] "holidays, Uncle Vernon had been treating him like a bomb that might go"
## [37] "off at any moment, because Harry Potter wasn't a normal boy. As a"
## [38] "matter of fact, he was as not normal as it is possible to be. Harry"
## [39] "Potter was a wizard - a wizard fresh from his first year at Hogwarts"
## [40] "School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And if the Dursleys were unhappy to"
## [41] "have him back for the holidays, it was nothing to how Harry felt. He"
## [42] "missed Hogwarts so much it was like having a constant stomachache. He"
## [43] "missed the castle, with its secret passageways and ghosts, his classes"
## [44] "(though perhaps not Snape, the Potions master), the mail arriving by"
## [45] "owl, eating banquets in the Great Hall, sleeping in his four-poster bed"
## [46] "in the tower dormitory, visiting the gamekeeper, Hagrid, in his cabin"
## [47] "next to the Forbidden Forest in the grounds, and, especially,"
## [48] "Quidditch, the most popular sport in the wizarding world (six tall goal"
## [49] "posts, four flying balls, and fourteen players on broomsticks). All"
## [50] "Harry's spellbooks, his wand, robes, cauldron, and top-of-the-line"
## [51] "Nimbus Two Thousand broomstick had been locked in a cupboard under the"
## [52] "stairs by Uncle Vernon the instant Harry had come home. What did the"
## [53] "Dursleys care if Harry lost his place on the House Quidditch team"
## [54] "because he hadn't practiced all summer? What was it to the Dursleys if"
## [55] "Harry went back to school without any of his homework done? The"
## [56] "Dursleys were what wizards called Muggles (not a drop of magical blood"
## [57] "in their veins), and as far as they were concerned, having a wizard"
## [58] "in the family was a matter of deepest shame. Uncle Vernon had even"
## [59] "padlocked Harry's owl, Hedwig, inside her cage, to stop her from"
## [60] "carrying messages to anyone in the wizarding world. Harry looked"
## [61] "nothing like the rest of the family. Uncle Vernon was large and"
## [62] "neckless, with an enormous black mustache; Aunt Petunia was horse-faced"
## [63] "and bony; Dudley was blond, pink, and porky. Harry, on the other hand,"
## [64] "was small and skinny, with brilliant green eyes and jet-black hair that"
## [65] "was always untidy. He wore round glasses, and on his forehead was a"
## [66] "thin, lightning-shaped scar. It was this scar that made Harry so"
## [67] "particularly unusual, even for a wizard. This scar was the only hint of"
## [68] "Harry's very mysterious past, of the reason he had been left on the"
## [69] "Dursleys' doorstep eleven years before. At the age of one year old,"
## [70] "Harry had somehow survived a curse from the greatest Dark sorcerer of"
## [71] "all time, Lord Voldemort, whose name most witches and wizards still"
## [72] "feared to speak. Harry's parents had died in Voldemort's attack, but"
## [73] "Harry had escaped with his lightning scar, and somehow - nobody"
## [74] "understood why Voldemort's powers had been destroyed the instant he had"
## [75] "failed to kill Harry. So Harry had been brought up by his dead"
## [76] "mother's sister and her husband. He had spent ten years with the"
## [77] "Dursleys, never understanding why he kept making odd things happen"
## [78] "without meaning to, believing the Dursleys' story that he had got his"
## [79] "scar in the car crash that had killed his parents. And then, exactly"
## [80] "a year ago, Hogwarts had written to Harry, and the whole story had"
## [81] "come out. Harry had taken up his place at wizard school, where he and"
## [82] "his scar were famous ... but now the school year was over, and he was"
## [83] "back with the Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a dog"
## [84] "that had rolled in something smelly. The Dursleys hadn't even"
## [85] "remembered that today happened to be Harry's twelfth birthday. Of"
## [86] "course, his hopes hadn't been high; they'd never given him a real"
## [87] "present, let alone a cake - but to ignore it completely ... At that"
## [88] "moment, Uncle Vernon cleared his throat importantly and said, \"Now, as"
## [89] "we all know, today is a very important day.\" Harry looked up, hardly"
## [90] "daring to believe it. \"This could well be the day I make the biggest"
## [91] "deal of my career, \" said Uncle Vernon. Harry went back to his"
## [92] "toast. Of course, he thought bitterly, Un cle Vernon was talking about"
## [93] "the stupid dinner party. He'd been talk ing of nothing else for two"
## [94] "weeks. Some rich builder and his wife were coming to dinner and Uncle"
## [95] "Vernon was hoping to get a huge order from him (Uncle Vernon's company"
## [96] "made drills). \"I think we should run through the schedule one more"
## [97] "time,\" said Uncle Vernon. \"We should all be in position at eight"
## [98] "o'clock. Petunia, you will be -?\" \"In the lounge,\" said Aunt Petunia"
## [99] "promptly, \"waiting to welcome them graciously to our home.\" \"Good,"
## [100] "good. And Dudley?\" \"I'll be waiting to open the door.\" Dudley put on"
## [101] "a foul, simpering smile. \"May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs."
## [102] "Mason?\" \"They'll love him!\" cried Aunt Petunia"
## [103] "rapturously. \"Excellent, Dudley,\" said Uncle Vernon. Then he rounded"
## [104] "on Harry. \"And you?\" \"I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and"
## [105] "pretending I'm not there,\" said Harry tonelessly. \"Exactly,\" said"
## [106] "Uncle Vernon nastily. \"I will lead them into the lounge, introduce you,"
## [107] "Petunia, and pour them -drinks. At eight- fifteen -\" \"I'll announce"
## [108] "dinner,\" said Aunt Petunia. \"And, Dudley, you'll say -\" \"May I"
## [109] "take you through to the dining room, Mrs. Mason?\" said Dudley, offering"
## [110] "his fat arm to an invisible woman. \"My perfect little gentleman!\""
## [111] "sniffed Aunt Petunia. \"And you?\" said Uncle Vernon viciously to"
## [112] "Harry. \"I'll be in my room, making no noise and pretending I'm not"
## [113] "there,\" said Harry dully. \"Precisely. Now, we should aim to get in a"
## [114] "few good compliments at dinner. Petunia, any ideas?\" \"Vernon tells"
## [115] "me you're a wonderful golfer, Mr. Mason.... Do tell me where you bought"
## [116] "your dress, Mrs. Mason ...... \"Perfect. . . Dudley?\" \"How about"
## [117] "-'We had to write an essay about our hero at school, Mr. Mason, and I"
## [118] "wrote about you.\"' This was too much for both Aunt Petunia and"
## [119] "Harry. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and hugged her son, while Harry"
## [120] "ducked under the table so they wouldn't see him laughing. \"And you,"
## [121] "boy?\" Harry fought to keep his face straight as he emerged. \"I'll"
## [122] "be in my room, making no noise and pretending I'm not there,\" he"
## [123] "said. \"Too right, you will,\" said Uncle Vernon forcefully. \"The Ma"
## [124] "sons don't know anything about you and it's going to stay that way."
## [125] "When dinner's over, you take Mrs. Mason back to the lounge for coffee,"
## [126] "Petunia, and I'll bring the subject around to drills. With any luck,"
## [127] "I'll have the deal signed and sealed before the news at ten. be"
## [128] "shopping for a vacation home in Majorca this time to morrow. Harry"
## [129] "couldn't feel too excited about this. He didn't think the Dursleys"
## [130] "would like him any better in Majorca than they did on Privet Drive."
## [131] "\"Right - I'm off into town to pick up the dinner jackets for Dudley and"
## [132] "me. And you,\" he snarled at Harry. \"You stay out of your aunt's way"
## [133] "while she's cleaning.\" Harry left through the back door. It was a"
## [134] "brilliant, sunny day. He crossed the lawn, slumped down on the garden"
## [135] "bench, and sang under his breath: \"Happy birthday to me ... happy"
## [136] "birthday to me. . . No cards, no presents, and he would be spending the"
## [137] "evening pretending not to exist. He gazed miserably into the hedge. He"
## [138] "had never felt so lonely. More than anything else at Hogwarts, more"
## [139] "even than playing Quidditch, Harry missed his best friends, Ron Weasley"
## [140] "and Hermione Granger. They, however, didn't seem to be missing him at"
## [141] "all. Neither of them had written to him all summer, even though Ron had"
## [142] "said he was going to ask Harry to come and stay. Countless times, Harry"
## [143] "had been on the point of unlocking Hedwig's cage by magic and sending"
## [144] "her to Ron and Hermione with a letter, but it wasn't worth the risk."
## [145] "Underage wizards weren't allowed to use magic outside of school. Harry"
## [146] "hadn't told the Dursleys this; he knew it was only their terror that"
## [147] "he might turn them all into dung beetles that stopped them from locking"
## [148] "him in the cupboard under the stairs with his wand and broomstick. For"
## [149] "the first couple of weeks back, Harry had enjoyed muttering nonsense"
## [150] "words under his breath and watching Dudley tearing out of the room as"
## [151] "fast as his fat legs would carry him. But the long silence from Ron and"
## [152] "Hermione had made Harry feel so cut off from the magical world that"
## [153] "even taunting Dudley had lost its appeal - and now Ron and Hermione had"
## [154] "forgotten his birthday. What wouldn't he give now for a message from"
## [155] "Hogwarts? From any witch or wizard? He'd almost be glad of a sight of"
## [156] "his archenemy, Draco Malfoy, just to be sure it hadn't all been a dream"
## [157] ".... Not that his whole year at Hogwarts had been fun. At the very"
## [158] "end of last term, Harry had come face-to-face with none other than Lord"
## [159] "Voldemort himself. Voldemort might be a ruin of his former self, but he"
## [160] "was still terrifying, still cunning, still determined to regain power."
## [161] "Harry had slipped through Voldemort's clutches for a second time, but"
## [162] "it had been a narrow escape, and even now, weeks later, Harry kept"
## [163] "waking in the night, drenched in cold sweat, wondering where Voldemort"
## [164] "was now, remembering his livid face, his wide, mad eyes Harry"
## [165] "suddenly sat bolt upright on the garden bench. He had been staring"
## [166] "absent-mindedly into the hedge - and the hedge was staring back. Two"
## [167] "enormous green eyes had appeared among the leaves. Harry jumped to"
## [168] "his feet just as a jeering voice floated across the lawn. \"I know"
## [169] "what day it is,\" sang Dudley, waddling toward him. The huge eyes"
## [170] "blinked and vanished. \"What?\" said Harry, not taking his eyes off"
## [171] "the spot where they had been. \"I know what day it is,\" Dudley"
## [172] "repeated, coming right up to him. \"Well done,\" said Harry. \"So"
## [173] "you've finally learned the days of the week.\" \"Today's your"
## [174] "birthday,\" sneered Dudley. \"How come you haven't got any cards? Haven't"
## [175] "you even got friends at that freak place?\" \"Better not let your mum"
## [176] "hear you talking about my school,\" said Harry coolly. Dudley hitched"
## [177] "up his trousers, which were slipping down his fat bottom. \"Why're"
## [178] "you staring at the hedge?\" he said suspiciously. \"I'm trying to"
## [179] "decide what would be the best spell to set it on fire,\" said"
## [180] "Harry. Dudley stumbled backward at once, a look of panic on his fat"
## [181] "face. \"You c-can't - Dad told you you're not to do m-magic - he said"
## [182] "he'll chuck you out of the house - and you haven't got anywhere else to"
## [183] "go - you haven't got any friends to take you -\" \"Jiggery pokery!\""
## [184] "said Harry in a fierce voice. \"Hocus pocus squiggly wiggly"
## [185] "-\" \"MUUUUUUM!\" howled Dudley, tripping over his feet as he dashed"
## [186] "back toward the house. \"MUUUUM! He's doing you know what!\" Harry"
## [187] "paid dearly for his moment of fun. As neither Dudley nor the hedge"
## [188] "was in any way hurt, Aunt Petunia knew he hadn't really done magic, but"
## [189] "he still had to duck as she aimed a heavy blow at his head with the"
## [190] "soapy frying pan. Then she gave him work to do, with the promise he"
## [191] "wouldn't eat again until he'd finished. While Dudley lolled around"
## [192] "watching and eating ice cream, Harry cleaned the windows, washed the"
## [193] "car, mowed the lawn, trimmed the flowerbeds, pruned and watered the"
## [194] "roses, and repainted the garden bench. The sun blazed overhead, burning"
## [195] "the back of his neck. Harry knew he shouldn't have risen to Dudley's"
## [196] "bait, but Dudley had said the very thing Harry had been thinking"
## [197] "himself... maybe he didn't have any friends at Hogwarts .... Wish"
## [198] "they could see famous Harry Potter now, he thought savagely as he"
## [199] "spread manure on the flower beds, his back aching, sweat running down"
## [200] "his face. It was half past seven ,in the evening when at last,"
## [201] "exhausted, he heard Aunt Petunia calling him. \"Get in here! And walk"
## [202] "on the newspaper!\" Harry moved gladly into the shade of the gleaming"
## [203] "kitchen. On top of the fridge stood tonight's pudding: a huge mound of"
## [204] "whipped cream and sugared violets. A loin of roast pork was sizzling in"
## [205] "the oven. \"Eat quickly! The Masons will be here soon!\" snapped Aunt"
## [206] "Petunia, pointing to two slices of bread and a lump of cheese on the"
## [207] "kitchen table. She was already wearing a salmon-pink cocktail"
## [208] "dress. Harry washed his hands and bolted down his pitiful supper."
## [209] "The moment he had finished, Aunt Petunia whisked away his plate."
## [210] "\"Upstairs! Hurry!\" As he passed the door to the living room, Harry"
## [211] "caught a glimpse of Uncle Vernon and Dudley in bow ties and dinner jack"
## [212] "ets. He had only just reached the upstairs landing when the door bell"
## [213] "rang and Uncle Vernon's furious face appeared at the foot of the"
## [214] "stairs. \"Remember, boy - one sound -\" Harry crossed to his bedroom on"
## [215] "tiptoe slipped inside, closed the door, and turned to collapse on his"
## [216] "bed. The trouble was, there was already someone sitting on it. "
## document TTR C R CTTR U S K
## 1 1 0.08696779 0.7848029 25.33421 17.91399 22.90318 0.8480807 71.66234
## I D Vm Maas lgV0 lgeV0
## 1 1.055572 0.007154534 0.08384947 0.2089547 6.241363 14.37127
## document MATTR
## 1 1 0.5403529
This book was totally badass. It’s everyone’s favorite.
one dark novel!
## [1] " OWL POST Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways. For"
## [2] "one thing, he hated the summer holidays more than any other time of"
## [3] "year. For another, he really wanted to do his homework but was forced"
## [4] "to do it in secret, in the dead of night. And he also happened to be a"
## [5] "wizard. It was nearly midnight, and he was lying on his stomach in"
## [6] "bed, the blankets drawn right over his head like a tent, a flashlight"
## [7] "in one hand and a large leather-bound book (A History of Magic by"
## [8] "Bathilda Bagshot) propped open against the pillow. Harry moved the tip"
## [9] "of his eagle-feather quill down the page, frowning as he looked for"
## [10] "something that would help him write his essay, \"Witch Burning in the"
## [11] "Fourteenth Century Was Completely Pointless discuss.\" The quill"
## [12] "paused at the top of a likely-looking paragraph. Harry Pushed his round"
## [13] "glasses up the bridge of his nose, moved his flashlight closer to the"
## [14] "book, and read: Non-magic people (more commonly known as Muggles)"
## [15] "were particularly afraid of magic in medieval times, but not very good"
## [16] "at recognizing it. On the rare occasion that they did catch a real"
## [17] "witch or wizard, burning had no effect whatsoever. The witch or wizard"
## [18] "would perform a basic Flame Freezing Charm and then pretend to shriek"
## [19] "with pain while enjoying a gentle, tickling sensation. Indeed, Wendelin"
## [20] "the Weird enjoyed being burned so much that she allowed herself to be"
## [21] "caught no less than fortyseven times in various disguises. Harry put"
## [22] "his quill between his teeth and reached underneath his pillow for his"
## [23] "ink bottle and a roll of parchment. Slowly and very carefully he"
## [24] "unscrewed the ink bottle, dipped his quill into it, and began to write,"
## [25] "pausing every now and then to listen, because if any of the Dursleys"
## [26] "heard the scratching of his quill on their way to the bathroom, he'd"
## [27] "probably find himself locked in the cupboard under the stairs for the"
## [28] "rest of the summer. The Dursley family of number four, Privet Drive,"
## [29] "was the reason that Harry never enjoyed his summer holidays. Uncle"
## [30] "Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and their son, Dudley, were Harry's only living"
## [31] "relatives. They were Muggles, and they had a very medieval attitude"
## [32] "toward magic. Harry's dead parents, who had been a witch and wizard"
## [33] "themselves, were never mentioned under the Dursleys' roof For years,"
## [34] "Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had hoped that if they kept Harry as"
## [35] "downtrodden as possible, they would be able to squash the magic out of"
## [36] "him. To their fury, they had been unsuccessful. These days they lived"
## [37] "in terror of anyone finding out that Harry had spent most of the last"
## [38] "two years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The most they"
## [39] "could do, however, was to lock away Harry's spellbooks, wand, cauldron,"
## [40] "and broomstick at the start of the summer break, and forbid him to talk"
## [41] "to the neighbors. This separation from his spellbooks had been a"
## [42] "real problem for Harry, because his teachers at Hogwarts had given him"
## [43] "a lot of holiday work. One of the essays, a particularly nasty one"
## [44] "about shrinking potions, was for Harry's least favorite teacher,"
## [45] "Professor Snape, who would be delighted to have an excuse to give Harry"
## [46] "detention for a month. Harry had therefore seized his chance in the"
## [47] "first week of the holidays. While Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and"
## [48] "Dudley had gone out into the front garden to admire Uncle Vernon's new"
## [49] "company car (in very loud voices, so that the rest of the street would"
## [50] "notice it too), Harry had crept downstairs, picked the lock on the"
## [51] "cupboard under the stairs, grabbed some of his books, and hidden them"
## [52] "in his bedroom. As long as he didn't leave spots of ink on the sheets,"
## [53] "the Dursleys need never know that he was studying magic by"
## [54] "night. Harry was particularly keen to avoid trouble with his aunt"
## [55] "and uncle at the moment, as they were already in an especially bad mood"
## [56] "with him, all because he'd received a telephone call from a fellow"
## [57] "wizard one week into the school vacation. Ron Weasley, who was one"
## [58] "of Harry's best friends at Hogwarts, came from a whole family of"
## [59] "wizards. This meant that he knew a lot of things Harry didn't, but had"
## [60] "never used a telephone before. Most unluckily, it had been Uncle Vernon"
## [61] "who had answered the call. \"Vernon Dursley speaking.\" Harry, who"
## [62] "happened to be in the room at the time, froze as he heard Ron's voice"
## [63] "answer. \"HELLO? HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I -- WANT -- TO -- TALK --"
## [64] "TO -- HARRY -- POTTER!\" Ron was yelling so loudly that Uncle Vernon"
## [65] "jumped and held the receiver a foot away from his ear, staring at it"
## [66] "with an expression of mingled fury and alarm. \"WHO IS THIS?\" he"
## [67] "roared in the direction of the mouthpiece. \"WHO ARE YOU?\" \"RON --"
## [68] "WEASLEY!\" Ron bellowed back, as though he and Uncle Vernon were"
## [69] "speaking from opposite ends of a football field. \"I'M -- A -- FRIEND --"
## [70] "OF -- HARRY'S -- FROM -- SCHOOL --\" Uncle Vernon's small eyes"
## [71] "swiveled around to Harry, who was rooted to the spot. \"THERE IS NO"
## [72] "HARRY POTTER HERE!\" he roared, now holding the receiver at arm's"
## [73] "length, as though frightened it might explode. \"I DON'T KNOW WHAT"
## [74] "SCHOOL YOURE TALKING ABOUT! NEVER CONTACT ME AGAIN! DON'T YOU COME NEAR"
## [75] "MY FAMILY!\" And he threw the receiver back onto the telephone as if"
## [76] "dropping a poisonous spider. The fight that had followed had been"
## [77] "one of the worst ever. \"HOW DARE YOU GIVE THIS NUMBER TO PEOPLE LIKE"
## [78] "-- PEOPLE LIKE YOU!\" Uncle Vernon had roared, spraying Harry with"
## [79] "spit. Ron obviously realized that he'd gotten Harry into trouble,"
## [80] "because he hadn't called again. Harry's other best friend from"
## [81] "Hogwarts, Hermione Granger, hadn't been in touch either. Harry"
## [82] "suspected that Ron had warned Hermione not to call, which was a pity,"
## [83] "because Hermione, the cleverest witch in Harry's year, had Muggle"
## [84] "parents, knew perfectly well how to use a telephone, and would probably"
## [85] "have had enough sense not to say that she went to Hogwarts. So Harry"
## [86] "had had no word from any of his wizarding friends for five long weeks,"
## [87] "and this summer was turning out to be almost as bad as the last one."
## [88] "There was just one very small improvement -- after swearing that he"
## [89] "wouldn't use her to send letters to any of his friends, Harry had been"
## [90] "allowed to let his owl, Hedwig, out at night. Uncle Vernon had given in"
## [91] "because of the racket Hedwig made if she was locked in her cage all the"
## [92] "time. Harry finished writing about Wendelin the Weird and paused to"
## [93] "listen again. The silence in the dark house was broken only by the"
## [94] "distant, grunting snores of his enormous cousin, Dudley. It must be"
## [95] "very late, Harry thought. His eyes were itching with tiredness. Perhaps"
## [96] "he'd finish this essay tomorrow night.... He replaced the top of the"
## [97] "ink bottle; pulled an old pillowcase from under his bed; put the"
## [98] "flashlight, A History of Magic, his essay, quill, and ink inside it;"
## [99] "got out of bed; and hid the lot under a loose floorboard under his bed."
## [100] "Then he stood up, stretched, and checked the time on the luminous alarm"
## [101] "clock on his bedside table. It was one o'clock in the morning."
## [102] "Harry's stomach gave a funny jolt. He had been thirteen years old,"
## [103] "without realizing it, for a whole hour. Yet another unusual thing"
## [104] "about Harry was how little he looked forward to his birthdays. He had"
## [105] "never received a birthday card in his life. The Dursleys had completely"
## [106] "ignored his last two birthdays, and he had no reason to suppose they"
## [107] "would remember this one. Harry walked across the dark room, past"
## [108] "Hedwig's large, empty cage, to the open window. He leaned on the sill,"
## [109] "the cool night air pleasant on his face after a long time under the"
## [110] "blankets. Hedwig had been absent for two nights now. Harry wasn't"
## [111] "worried about her: she'd been gone this long before. But he hoped she'd"
## [112] "be back soon -- she was the only living creature in this house who"
## [113] "didn't flinch at the sight of him. Harry, though still rather small"
## [114] "and skinny for his age, had grown a few inches over the last year. His"
## [115] "jet-black hair, however, was just as it always had been -- stubbornly"
## [116] "untidy, whatever he did to it. The eyes behind his glasses were bright"
## [117] "green, and on his forehead, clearly visible through his hair, was a"
## [118] "thin scar, shaped like a bolt of lightning. Of all the unusual"
## [119] "things about Harry, this scar was the most extraordinary of all. It was"
## [120] "not, as the Dursleys had pretended for ten years, a souvenir of the car"
## [121] "crash that had killed Harry's parents, because Lily and James Potter"
## [122] "had not died in a car crash. They had been murdered, murdered by the"
## [123] "most feared Dark wizard for a hundred years, Lord Voldemort. Harry had"
## [124] "escaped from the same attack with nothing more than a scar on his"
## [125] "forehead, where Voldemort's curse, instead of killing him, had"
## [126] "rebounded upon its originator. Barely alive, Voldemort had"
## [127] "fled.... But Harry had come face-to-face with him at Hogwarts."
## [128] "Remembering their last meeting as he stood at the dark window, Harry"
## [129] "had to admit he was lucky even to have reached his thirteenth"
## [130] "birthday. He scanned the starry sky for a sign of Hedwig, perhaps"
## [131] "soaring back to him with a dead mouse dangling from her beak,"
## [132] "expecting praise. Gazing absently over the rooftops, it was a few"
## [133] "seconds before Harry realized what he was seeing. Silhouetted"
## [134] "against the golden moon, and growing larger every moment, was a large,"
## [135] "strangely lopsided creature, and it was flapping in Harry's direction."
## [136] "He stood quite still, watching it sink lower and lower. For a split"
## [137] "second he hesitated, his hand on the window latch, wondering whether to"
## [138] "slam it shut. But then the bizarre creature soared over one of the"
## [139] "street lamps of Privet Drive, and Harry, realizing what it was, leapt"
## [140] "aside. Through the window soared three owls, two of them holding up"
## [141] "the third, which appeared to be unconscious. They landed with a soft"
## [142] "flump on Harry's bed, and the middle owl, which was large and gray,"
## [143] "keeled right over and lay motionless. There was a large package tied to"
## [144] "its legs. Harry recognized the unconscious owl at once -- his name"
## [145] "was Errol, and he belonged to the Weasley family. Harry dashed to the"
## [146] "bed, untied the cords around Errol's legs, took off the parcel, and"
## [147] "then carried Errol to Hedwig's cage. Errol opened one bleary eye, gave"
## [148] "a feeble hoot of thanks, and began to gulp some water. Harry turned"
## [149] "back to the remaining owls. One of them, the large snowy female, was"
## [150] "his own Hedwig. She, too, was carrying a parcel and looked extremely"
## [151] "pleased with herself. She gave Harry an affectionate nip with her beak"
## [152] "as he removed her burden, then flew across the room to join"
## [153] "Errol. Harry didn't recognize the third owl, a handsome tawny one,"
## [154] "but he knew at once where it had come from, because in addition to a"
## [155] "third package, it was carrying a letter bearing the Hogwarts crest."
## [156] "When Harry relieved this owl of its burden, it ruffled its feathers"
## [157] "importantly, stretched its wings, and took off through the window into"
## [158] "the night. Harry sat down on his bed and grabbed Errol's package,"
## [159] "ripped off the brown paper, and discovered a present wrapped in gold,"
## [160] "and his first ever birthday card. Fingers trembling slightly, he opened"
## [161] "the envelope. Two pieces of paper fell out -- a letter and a newspaper"
## [162] "clipping. The clipping had clearly come out of the wizarding"
## [163] "newspaper, the Daily Prophet, because the people in the black-and-white"
## [164] "picture were moving. Harry picked up the clipping, smoothed it out, and"
## [165] "read: MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE Arthur"
## [166] "Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry"
## [167] "of Magic, has won the annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon"
## [168] "Draw. A delighted Mr. Weasley told the Daily Prophet, \"We will be"
## [169] "spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our eldest son,"
## [170] "Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank.\" The"
## [171] "Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt, returning for the"
## [172] "start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley"
## [173] "children currently attend. Harry scanned the moving photograph, and"
## [174] "a grin spread across his face as he saw all nine of the Weasleys waving"
## [175] "furiously at him, standing in front of a large pyramid. Plump little"
## [176] "Mrs. Weasley; tail, balding Mr. Weasley; six sons; and one daughter,"
## [177] "all (though the black-and-white picture didn't show it) with"
## [178] "flaming-red hair. Right in the middle of the picture was Ron, tall and"
## [179] "gangling, with his pet rat, Scabbers, on his shoulder and his arm"
## [180] "around his little sister, Ginny. Harry couldn't think of anyone who"
## [181] "deserved to win a large pile of gold more than the Weasleys, who were"
## [182] "very nice and extremely poor. He picked up Ron's letter and unfolded"
## [183] "it. Dear Harry, Happy birthday! Look, I' really sorry about"
## [184] "that telephone call. I hope the Muggles didn't give you a hard time. I"
## [185] "asked Dad, and he reckons I shouldn't have shouted. It's amazing"
## [186] "here in Egypt. Bill's taken us around all the tombs and you wouldn't"
## [187] "believe the curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them. Mum wouldn't"
## [188] "let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these mutant skeletons"
## [189] "in there, of Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and"
## [190] "stuff. I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw."
## [191] "Seven hundred galleons! Most of it's gone on this trip, but they're"
## [192] "going to buy me a new wand for next year. Harry remembered only too"
## [193] "well the occasion when Ron's old wand had snapped. It had happened when"
## [194] "the car the two of them had been flying to Hogwarts had crashed into a"
## [195] "tree on the school grounds. We'll be back about a week before term"
## [196] "starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and our new"
## [197] "books. Any chance of meeting you there? Don't let the Muggles get"
## [198] "you down! Try and come to London, Ron P.S. Percy's Head Boy."
## [199] "He got the letter last week. Harry glanced back at the photograph."
## [200] "Percy, who was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, was looking"
## [201] "particularly smug. He had pinned his Head Boy badge to the fez perched"
## [202] "jauntily on top of his neat hair, his horn-rimmed glasses flashing in"
## [203] "the Egyptian sun. Harry now turned to his present and unwrapped it."
## [204] "Inside was what looked like a miniature glass spinning top. There was"
## [205] "another note from Ron beneath it. Harry -- this is a Pocket"
## [206] "Sneakoscope. If there's someone untrustworthy around, it's supposed to"
## [207] "light up and spin. Bill says it's rubbish sold for wizard tourists and"
## [208] "isn't reliable, because it kept lighting up at dinner last night. But"
## [209] "he didn't realize Fred and George had put beetles in his soup. Bye"
## [210] "-- Ron Harry put the Pocket Sneakoscope on his bedside table,"
## [211] "where it stood quite still, balanced on its point, reflecting the"
## [212] "luminous hands of his clock. He looked at it happily for a few seconds,"
## [213] "then picked up the parcel Hedwig had brought. Inside this, too,"
## [214] "there was a wrapped present, a card, and a letter, this time from"
## [215] "Hermione. Dear Harry, Ron wrote to me and told me about his phone"
## [216] "call to your Uncle Vernon. I do hope you're all right. I'm on"
## [217] "holiday in France at the moment and I didn't know how I was going to"
## [218] "send this to you -- what if they'd opened it at customs? -- but then"
## [219] "Hedwig turned up! I think she wanted to make sure you got something for"
## [220] "your birthday for a change. I bought your present by owl-order; there"
## [221] "was an advertisement in the Daily Prophet (I've been getting it"
## [222] "delivered; it's so good to keep up with what's going on in the"
## [223] "wizarding world), Did you see that picture of Ron and his family a week"
## [224] "ago? I bet he's learning loads. I'm really jealous -- the ancient"
## [225] "Egyptian wizards were fascinating. There's some interesting local"
## [226] "history of witchcraft here, too. I've rewritten my whole History of"
## [227] "Magic essay to include some of the things I've found out, I hope it's"
## [228] "not too long -- it's two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns"
## [229] "asked for. Ron says he's going to be in London in the last week of"
## [230] "the holidays. Can you make it? Will your aunt and uncle let you come? I"
## [231] "really hope you can. If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on"
## [232] "September first! Love from Hermione P.S. Ron says Percy's Head"
## [233] "Boy. I'll bet Percy's really pleased Ron doesn't seem too happy about"
## [234] "it Harry laughed as he put Herrmone's letter aside and picked up her"
## [235] "present. It was very heavy. Knowing Hermione, he was sure it would be a"
## [236] "large book full of very difficult spells -- but it wasn't. His heart"
## [237] "gave a huge bound as he ripped back the paper and saw a sleek black"
## [238] "leather case, with silver words stamped across it, reading Broomstick"
## [239] "Servicing Kit. \"Wow, Hermione!\" Harry whispered, unzipping the case"
## [240] "to look inside. There was a large jar of Fleetwood's High-Finish"
## [241] "Handle Polish, a pair of gleaming silver Tall-Twig Clippers, a tiny"
## [242] "brass compass to clip on your broom for long journeys, and a Handbook"
## [243] "of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare. Apart from his friends, the thing that"
## [244] "Harry missed most about Hogwarts was Quidditch, the most popular sport"
## [245] "in the magical world -- highly dangerous, very exciting, and played on"
## [246] "broomsticks. Harry happened to be a very good Quidditch player; he had"
## [247] "been the youngest person in a century to be picked for one of the"
## [248] "Hogwarts House teams. One of Harry's most prized possessions was his"
## [249] "Nimbus Two Thousand racing broom. Harry put the leather case aside"
## [250] "and picked up his last parcel. He recognized the untidy scrawl on the"
## [251] "brown paper at once: this was from Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. He"
## [252] "tore off the top layer of paper and glimpsed something green and"
## [253] "leathery, but before he could unwrap it properly, the parcel gave a"
## [254] "strange quiver, and whatever was inside it snapped loudly -- as though"
## [255] "it had jaws. Harry froze. He knew that Hagrid would never send him"
## [256] "anything dangerous on purpose, but then, Hagrid didn't have a normal"
## [257] "person's view of what was dangerous. Hagrid had been known to befriend"
## [258] "giant spiders, buy vicious, three-headed dogs from men in pubs, and"
## [259] "sneak illegal dragon eggs into his cabin. Harry poked the parcel"
## [260] "nervously. It snapped loudly again. Harry reached for the lamp on his"
## [261] "bedside table, gripped it firmly in one hand, and raised it over his"
## [262] "head, ready to strike. Then he seized the rest of the wrapping paper in"
## [263] "his other hand and pulled. And out fell -- a book. Harry just had"
## [264] "time to register its handsome green cover, emblazoned with the golden"
## [265] "title The Monster Book of Monsters, before it flipped onto its edge and"
## [266] "scuttled sideways along the bed like some weird crab. \"Uh-oh,\" Harry"
## [267] "muttered. The book toppled off the bed with a loud clunk and"
## [268] "shuffled rapidly across the room. Harry followed it stealthily. The"
## [269] "book was hiding in the dark space under his desk. Praying that the"
## [270] "Dursleys were still fast asleep, Harry got down on his hands and knees"
## [271] "and reached toward it. \"Ouch!\" The book snapped shut on his hand"
## [272] "and then flapped past him, still scuttling on its covers. Harry"
## [273] "scrambled around, threw himself forward, and managed to flatten it."
## [274] "Uncle Vernon gave a loud, sleepy grunt in the room next door. Hedwig"
## [275] "and Errol watched interestedly as Harry clamped the struggling book"
## [276] "tightly in his arms, hurried to his chest of drawers, and pulled out a"
## [277] "belt, which he buckled tightly around it. The Monster Book shuddered"
## [278] "angrily, but could no longer flap and snap, so Harry threw it down on"
## [279] "the bed and reached for Hagrid's card. Dear Harry, Happy"
## [280] "Birthday! Think you might find this useful for next year. Won't say"
## [281] "no more here. Tell you when I see you. Hope the Muggles are treating"
## [282] "you right. All the best, Hagrid It struck Harry as ominous"
## [283] "that Hagrid thought a biting book would come in useful, but he put"
## [284] "Hagrid's card up next to Ron's and Hermione's, grinning more broadly"
## [285] "than ever. Now there was only the letter from Hogwarts"
## [286] "left. Noticing that it was rather thicker than usual, Harry slit"
## [287] "open the envelope, pulled out the first page of parchment within, and"
## [288] "read: Dear Mr. Potter, Please note that the new school year will"
## [289] "begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave ftom"
## [290] "King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven"
## [291] "o'clock. Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade"
## [292] "on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your"
## [293] "parent or guardian to sign. A list of books for next year is"
## [294] "enclosed. Yours sincerely, Professor M. McGonagall Deputy"
## [295] "Headmistress Harry pulled out the Hogsmeade permission form and"
## [296] "looked at it, no longer grinning. It would be wonderful to visit"
## [297] "Hogsmeade on weekends; he knew it was an entirely wizarding village,"
## [298] "and he had never set foot there. But how on earth was he going to"
## [299] "persuade Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia to sign the form? He looked"
## [300] "over at the alarm clock. It was now two o'clock in the"
## [301] "morning. Deciding that he'd worry about the Hogsmeade form when he"
## [302] "woke up, Harry got back into bed and reached up to cross off another"
## [303] "day on the chart he'd made for himself, counting down the days left"
## [304] "until his return to Hogwarts. Then he took off his glasses and lay"
## [305] "down, eyes open, facing his three birthday cards. Extremely unusual"
## [306] "though he was, at that moment Harry Potter felt just like everyone else"
## [307] "-- glad, for the first time in his life, that it was his birthday. "
## document TTR C R CTTR U S K
## 1 1 0.07487197 0.7757879 24.245 17.1438 22.39221 0.8426599 71.31627
## I D Vm Maas lgV0 lgeV0
## 1 0.7861283 0.007122158 0.08369142 0.2113253 6.172683 14.21313
## document MATTR
## 1 1 0.5313827
I need some emotional validation. This is more difficult than I thought it would be.
## [1] "You are delightful!"
##Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) goblet_of_fire
goblet
## [1] " The villagers of Little Hangleron still called it \"the Riddle"
## [2] "House,\" even though it had been many years since the Riddle family had"
## [3] "lived there. It stood on a hill overlooking the village, some of its"
## [4] "windows boarded, tiles missing from its roof, and ivy spreading"
## [5] "unchecked over its face. Once a fine-looking manor, and easily the"
## [6] "largest and grandest building for miles around, the Riddle House was"
## [7] "now damp, derelict, and unoccupied. The Little Hagletons all agreed"
## [8] "that the old house was \"creepy.\" Half a century ago, something strange"
## [9] "and horrible had happened there, something that the older inhabitants"
## [10] "of the village still liked to discuss when topics for gossip were"
## [11] "scarce. The story had been picked over so many times, and had been"
## [12] "embroidered in so many places, that nobody was quite sure what the"
## [13] "truth was anymore. Every version of the tale, however, started in the"
## [14] "same place: Fifty years before, at daybreak on a fine summer's morning"
## [15] "when the Riddle House had still been well kept and impressive, a maid"
## [16] "had entered the drawing room to find all three Riddles dead. The"
## [17] "maid had run screaming down the hill into the village and roused as"
## [18] "many people as she could. \"Lying there with their eyes wide open!"
## [19] "Cold as ice! Still in their dinner things!\" The police were"
## [20] "summoned, and the whole of Little Hangleton had seethed with shocked"
## [21] "curiosity and ill-disguised excitement. Nobody wasted their breath"
## [22] "pretending to feel very sad about the Riddles, for they had been most"
## [23] "unpopular. Elderly Mr. and Mrs. Riddle had been rich, snobbish, and"
## [24] "rude, and their grown-up son, Tom, had been, if anything, worse. All"
## [25] "the villagers cared about was the identity of their murderer -- for"
## [26] "plainly, three apparently healthy people did not all drop dead of"
## [27] "natural causes on the same night. The Hanged Man, the village pub,"
## [28] "did a roaring trade that night; the whole village seemed to have turned"
## [29] "out to discuss the murders. They were rewarded for leaving their"
## [30] "firesides when the Riddles' cook arrived dramatically in their midst"
## [31] "and announced to the suddenly silent pub that a man called Frank Bryce"
## [32] "had just been arrested. \"Frank!\" cried several people."
## [33] "\"Never!\" Frank Bryce was the Riddles' gardener. He lived alone in a"
## [34] "run-down cottage on the grounds of the Riddle House. Frank had come"
## [35] "back from the war with a very stiff leg and a great dislike of crowds"
## [36] "and loud noises, and had been working for the Riddles ever"
## [37] "since. There was a rush to buy the cook drinks and hear more"
## [38] "details. \"Always thought he was odd,\" she told the eagerly listening"
## [39] "villagers, after her fourth sherry. \"Unfriendly, like. I'm sure if I've"
## [40] "offered him a cuppa once, I've offered it a hundred times. Never wanted"
## [41] "to mix, he didn't.\" \"Ah, now,\" said a woman at the bar, \"he had a"
## [42] "hard war, Frank. He likes the quiet life. That's no reason to"
## [43] "--\" \"Who else had a key to the back door, then?\" barked the cook."
## [44] "\"There's been a spare key hanging in the gardener's cottage far back as"
## [45] "I can remember! Nobody forced the door last night! No broken windows!"
## [46] "All Frank had to do was creep up to the big house while we was all"
## [47] "sleeping...\" The villagers exchanged dark looks. \"I always"
## [48] "thought that he had a nasty look about him, right enough,\" grunted a"
## [49] "man at the bar. \"War turned him funny, if you ask me,\" said the"
## [50] "landlord. \"Told you I wouldn't like to get on the wrong side of"
## [51] "Frank, didn't I, Dot?\" said an excited woman in the"
## [52] "corner. \"Horrible temper,\" said Dot, nodding fervently. \"I remember,"
## [53] "when he was a kid...\" By the following morning, hardly anyone in"
## [54] "Little Hangleton doubted that Frank Bryce had killed the"
## [55] "Riddles. But over in the neighboring town of Great Hangleton, in the"
## [56] "dark and dingy police station, Frank was stubbornly repeating, again"
## [57] "and again, that he was innocent, and that the only person he had seen"
## [58] "near the house on the day of the Riddles' deaths had been a teenage"
## [59] "boy, a stranger, dark-haired and pale. Nobody else in the village had"
## [60] "seen any such boy, and the police were quite sure Frank had invented"
## [61] "him. Then, just when things were looking very serious for Frank, the"
## [62] "report on the Riddles' bodies came back and changed everything. The"
## [63] "police had never read an odder report. A team of doctors had examined"
## [64] "the bodies and had concluded that none of the Riddles had been"
## [65] "poisoned, stabbed, shot, strangles, suffocated, or (as far as they"
## [66] "could tell) harmed at all. In fact (the report continued, in a tone of"
## [67] "unmistakable bewilderment), the Riddles all appeared to be in perfet"
## [68] "health -- apart from the fact that they were all dead. The doctors did"
## [69] "note (as though determined to find something wrong with the bodies)"
## [70] "that each of the Riddles had a look of terror upon his or her face --"
## [71] "but as the frustrated police said, whoever heard of three people being"
## [72] "frightened to death? As there was no proof that the Riddles had been"
## [73] "murdered at all, the police were forced to let Frank go. The Riddles"
## [74] "were buried in the Little Hangleton churchyard, and their graves"
## [75] "remained objects of curiosity for a while. To everyone's surprise, and"
## [76] "amid a cloud of suspicion, Frank Bryce returned to his cottage on the"
## [77] "grounds of the Riddle House. \"'S far as I'm concerned, he killed"
## [78] "them, and I don't care what the police say,\" said Dot in the Hanged"
## [79] "Man. \"And if he had any decency, he'd leave here, knowing as how we"
## [80] "knows he did it.\" But Frank did not leave. He stayed to tend the"
## [81] "garden for the next family who lived in the Riddle House, and then the"
## [82] "next -- for neither family stayed long. Perhaps it was partly because"
## [83] "of Frank that the new owners said there was a nasty feeling about the"
## [84] "place, which, in the absence of inhabitants, started to fall into"
## [85] "disrepair. The wealthy man who owned the Riddle House these days"
## [86] "neither lived there nor put it to any use; they said in the village"
## [87] "that he kept it for \"tax reasons,\" though nobody was very clear what"
## [88] "these might be. The wealthy owner continued to pay Frank to do the"
## [89] "gardening, however. Frank was nearing his seventy-seventh birthday now,"
## [90] "very deaf, his bad leg stiffer than ever, but could be seen pottering"
## [91] "around the flower beds in fine weather, even though the weeds were"
## [92] "starting to creep up on him, try as he might to suppress them. Weeds"
## [93] "were not the only things Frank had to contend with either. Boys from"
## [94] "the village made a habit of throwing stones through the windows of the"
## [95] "Riddle House. They rode their bicycles over the lawns Frank worked so"
## [96] "hard to keep smooth. Once or twice, they broke into the old house for a"
## [97] "dare. They knew that old Frank's devotion to the house and the grounds"
## [98] "amounted almost to an obsession, and it amused them to see him limping"
## [99] "across the garden, brandishing his stick and yelling croakily at them."
## [100] "Frank, for his part, believed the boys tormented him because they, like"
## [101] "their parents and grandparents, though him a murderer. So when Frank"
## [102] "awoke one night in August and saw something very odd up at the old"
## [103] "house, he merely assumed that the boys had gone one step further in"
## [104] "their attempts to punish him. It was Frank's bad leg that woke him;"
## [105] "it was paining him worse than ever in his old age. He got up and limped"
## [106] "downstairs into the kitchen with the idea of refilling his hot-water"
## [107] "bottle to ease the stiffness in his knee. Standing at the sink, filling"
## [108] "the kettle, he looked up at the Riddle House and saw lights glimmering"
## [109] "in its upper windows. Frank knew at once what was going on. The boys"
## [110] "had broken into the house again, and judging by the flickering quality"
## [111] "of the light, they had started a fire. Frank had no telephone, in"
## [112] "any case, he had deeply mistrusted the police ever since they had taken"
## [113] "him in for questioning about the Riddles' deaths. He put down the"
## [114] "kettle at once, hurried back upstairs as fast as his bad leg would"
## [115] "allow, and was soon back in his kitchen, fully dressed and removing a"
## [116] "rusty old key from its hook by the door. He picked up his walking"
## [117] "stick, which was propped against the wall, and set off into the"
## [118] "night. The front door of the Riddle House bore no sign of being"
## [119] "forced, nor did any of the windows. Frank limped around to the back of"
## [120] "the house until he reached a door almost completely hidden by ivy, took"
## [121] "out the old key, put it into the lock, and opened the door"
## [122] "noiselessly. He let himself into the cavernous kitchen. Frank had"
## [123] "not entered it for many years; nevertheless, although it was very dark,"
## [124] "he remembered where the door into the hall was, and he groped his way"
## [125] "towards it, his nostrils full of the smell of decay, ears pricked for"
## [126] "any sound of footsteps or voices from overhead. He reached the hall,"
## [127] "which was a little lighter owing to the large mullioned windows on"
## [128] "either side of the front door, and started to climb the stairs,"
## [129] "blessing the dust that lay thick upon the stone, because it muffled the"
## [130] "sound of his feet and stick. On the landing, Frank turned right, and"
## [131] "saw at once where the intruders were: At the every end of the passage a"
## [132] "door stood ajar, and a flickering light shone through the gap, casting"
## [133] "a long sliver of gold across the black floor. Frank edged closer and"
## [134] "closer, he was able to see a narrow slice of the room beyond. The"
## [135] "fire, he now saw, had been lit in the grate. This surprised him. Then"
## [136] "he stopped moving and listened intently, for a man's voice spoke within"
## [137] "the room; it sounded timid and fearful. \"There is a little more in"
## [138] "the bottle, My Lord, if you are still hungry.\" \"Later,\" said a"
## [139] "second voice. This too belonged to a man -- but it was strangely"
## [140] "high-pitched, and cold as a sudden blast of icy wind. Something about"
## [141] "that voice made the sparse hairs on the back of Frank's neck stand up."
## [142] "\"Move me closer to the fire, Wormtail.\" Frank turned his right ear"
## [143] "toward the door, the better to hear. There came the clink of a bottle"
## [144] "being put down upon some hard surface, and then the dull scraping noise"
## [145] "of a heavy chair being dragged across the floor. Frank caught a glimpse"
## [146] "of a small man, his back to the door, pushing the chair into place. He"
## [147] "was wearing a long black cloak, and there was a bald patch at the back"
## [148] "of his head. Then he went out of sight again. \"Where is Nagini?\""
## [149] "said the cold voice. \"I -- I don't know, My Lord,\" said the first"
## [150] "voice nervously. \"She set out to explore the house, I think...\" \"You"
## [151] "will milk her before we retire, Wormtail,\" said the second voice. \"I"
## [152] "will need feeding in the night. The journey has tired me"
## [153] "greatly.\" Brow furrowed, Frank inclined his good ear still closer to"
## [154] "the door, listening very hard. There was a pause, and then the man"
## [155] "called Wormtail spoke again. \"My Lord, may I ask how long we are"
## [156] "going to stay here?\" \"A week,\" said the cold voice. \"Perhapse"
## [157] "longer. The place is moderately comfortable, and the plan cannot"
## [158] "proceed yet. It would be foolish to act before the Quidditch World Cup"
## [159] "is over.\" Frank inserted a gnarled finger into his ear and rotated"
## [160] "it. Owing, no doubt, to a buildup of earwax, he had heard the word"
## [161] "\"Quidditch,\" which was not a word at all. \"The -- the Quidditch"
## [162] "World Cup, My Lord?\" said Wormtail. (Frank dug his finger still more"
## [163] "vigorously into his ear.) \"Forgive me, but -- I do not understand --"
## [164] "why should we wait until the World Cup is over?\" \"Because, fool, at"
## [165] "this very moment wizards are pouring into the country from all over the"
## [166] "world, and every meddler from the Ministry of Magic will be on duty, on"
## [167] "the watch for signs of ususual activity, checking and double-checking"
## [168] "identities. They will be obsessed with security, lest the Muggles"
## [169] "notice anything. So we wait.\" Frank stopped trying to clear out his"
## [170] "ear. He had distinctly heard the words \"Ministry of Magic,\" \"wizards,\""
## [171] "and \"Muggles.\" Plainly, each of these expressions meant something"
## [172] "secret, and Frank could think of only two sorts of people who would"
## [173] "speak in code: spies and criminals. Frank tightened his hold on his"
## [174] "walking stick once more, and listened more closely still. \"Your"
## [175] "Lordship is still determined, then?\" Wormtail said"
## [176] "quietly. \"Certainly I am determined, Wormtail.\" There was a note of"
## [177] "menace in the cold voice now. A slight pause followed -- and the"
## [178] "Wormtail spoke, the words tumbling from him in a rush, as though he was"
## [179] "forcing himself to say this before he lost his nerve. \"It could be"
## [180] "done without Harry Potter, My Lord.\" Another pause, more protracted,"
## [181] "and then -- \"Without Harry Potter?\" breathed the second voice softly."
## [182] "\"I see...\" \"My Lord, I do not say this out of concern for the boy!\""
## [183] "said Wormtail, his voice rising squeakily. \"The boy is nothing to me,"
## [184] "nothing at all! It is merely that if we were to use another witch or"
## [185] "wizard -- any wizard -- the thing could be done so much more quickly!"
## [186] "If you allowed me to leave you for a short while -- you know that I can"
## [187] "disguise myself most effectively -- I could be back here in as little"
## [188] "as two days with a suitable person --\" \"I could use another wizard,\""
## [189] "said the cold voice softly, \"that is true...\" \"My Lord, it makes"
## [190] "sense,\" said Wormtail, sounding thoroughly relieved now. \"Laying"
## [191] "hands on Harry Potter would be so difficult, he is so well protected"
## [192] "--\" \"And so you volunteer to go and fetch me a substitute? I"
## [193] "wonder...perhaps the task of nursing me has become wearisome for you,"
## [194] "Wormtail? Could this suggestion of abandoning the plan be nothing more"
## [195] "than an attempt to desert me?\" \"My Lord! I -- I have no wish to"
## [196] "leave you, none at all --\" \"Do not lie to me!\" hissed the second"
## [197] "voice. \"I can always tell, Wormtail! You are regretting that you ever"
## [198] "returned to me. I revolt you. I see you flinch when you look at me,"
## [199] "feel you shudder when you touch me...\" \"No! My devotion to Your"
## [200] "Lordship --\" \"Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice. You"
## [201] "would not be here if you had anywhere else to go. How am I to survive"
## [202] "without you, when I need feeding every few hours? Who is to milk"
## [203] "Nagini?\" \"But you seem so much stronger, My Lord --\" \"Liar,\""
## [204] "breathed the second voice. \"I am no stronger, and a few days alone"
## [205] "would be enough to rob me of the little health I have regained under"
## [206] "your clumsy care. Silence!\" Wormtail, who had been sputtering"
## [207] "incoherently, fell silent at once. For a few seconds, Frank could hear"
## [208] "nothing but the fire crackling. The the second man spoke once more, in"
## [209] "a whisper that was almost a hiss. \"I have my reasons for using the"
## [210] "boy, as I have already explained to you, and I will use no other. I"
## [211] "have waited thirteen years. A few more months will make no difference."
## [212] "As for the protection surrounding the boy, I believe my plan will be"
## [213] "effective. All that is needed is a little courage from you, Wormtail --"
## [214] "courage you will find, unless you wish to feel the full extent of Lord"
## [215] "Voldermort's wrath --\" \"My Lord, I must speak!\" said Wormtail, panic"
## [216] "in his voice now. \"All through our journey I have gone over the plan in"
## [217] "my head -- My Lord, Bertha Jorkin's disappearance will not go unnoticed"
## [218] "for long, and if we proceed, if I murder --\" \"If?\" whispered the"
## [219] "second voice. \"If? If you follow the plan, Wormtail, the Ministry need"
## [220] "never know that anyone else has died. You will do it quietly and"
## [221] "without fuss; I only wish that i could do it myself, but in my present"
## [222] "condition...Come, Wormtail, one more death and our path to Harry Potter"
## [223] "is clear. I am not asking you to do it alone. By that time, my faithful"
## [224] "serant will have rejoined us --\" \"I am a faithful servant,\" said"
## [225] "Wormtail, the merest trace of sullenness in his voice. \"Wormtail, I"
## [226] "need somebody with brains, somebody whose loyalty has never wavered,"
## [227] "and you, unfortunately, fulfill neither requirement.\" \"I found you,\""
## [228] "said Wormtail, and there was definitely a sulky edge to his voice now."
## [229] "\"I was the one who found you. I brought you Bertha Jorkins.\" \"That"
## [230] "is true,\" said the second man, sounding amused. \"A stroke of brilliance"
## [231] "I would not have thought possible from you, Wormtail -- though, if"
## [232] "truth be told, you were not aware how useful she would be when you"
## [233] "caught her, were you?\" \"I -- I thought she might be useful, My Lord"
## [234] "--\" \"Liar,\" said the second voice again, the cruel amusement more"
## [235] "pronounced than ever. \"However, I do not deny that her information was"
## [236] "invaluable. Without it, I could never have formed our plan, and for"
## [237] "that, you will have your reward, Wormtail. I will allow you to perform"
## [238] "an essential task for me, one that many of my followers would give"
## [239] "their right hands to perform...\" \"R-really, My Lord? What -- ?\""
## [240] "Wormtail sounded terrified again. \"Ah, Wormtail, you don't want me"
## [241] "to spoil the surprise? Your part will come at the very end...but I"
## [242] "promise you, you will have the honor of being just as useful as Bertha"
## [243] "Jorkins.\" \"You...you...\" Wormtail's voice suddenly sounded hoarse,"
## [244] "as though his mouth had gone very dry. \"You...are going...to kill me"
## [245] "too?\" \"Wormtail, Wormtail,\" said the cold voice silkily, \"why would"
## [246] "I kill you? I killed Bertha because I had to. She was fit for nothing"
## [247] "after my questioning, quite useless. In any case, awkward questions"
## [248] "would have been asked if she had gone back to the Ministry with the"
## [249] "news that she had met you on her holidays. Wizards who are supposed to"
## [250] "be dead would do well not to run into Ministry of Magic witches at"
## [251] "wayside inns...\" Wormtail muttered something so quietly that Frank"
## [252] "could not hear it, but it made the second man laugh -- an entirely"
## [253] "mirthless laugh, cold as his speech. \"We could have modified her"
## [254] "memory? But Memory Charms can be broken by a powerful wizard, as I"
## [255] "proved when I questioned her. It would be an insult to her memory not"
## [256] "to use the information I extracted from her, Wormtail.\" Out in the"
## [257] "corridor, Frank suddenly became aware that the hand gripping his"
## [258] "walking stick was slippery with sweat. The man with the cold voice had"
## [259] "killed a woman. He was talking about it without any kind of remorse"
## [260] "-- with amusement. He was dangerous -- a madman. And he was planning"
## [261] "more murders -- this boy, Harry Potter, whoever he was -- was in danger"
## [262] "-- Frank knew what he must do. Now, if ever, was the time to go to the"
## [263] "police. He would creep out of the house and head straight for the"
## [264] "telephone box in the village...but the cold voice was speaking again,"
## [265] "and Frank remained where he was, frozen to the spot, listening with all"
## [266] "his might. \"One more murder...my faithful servant at"
## [267] "Hogwarts...Harry Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail. It is decided."
## [268] "There will be no more argument. But quiet...I think I hear"
## [269] "Nagini...\" And the second man's voice changed. He started making"
## [270] "noises such as Frank had never heard before; he was hissing and"
## [271] "spitting without drawing breath. Frank thought he must be having some"
## [272] "sort of fit or seizure. And then Frank heard movement behind him in"
## [273] "the dark passageway. He turned to look, and found himself paralyzed"
## [274] "with fright. Something was slithering toward him along the dark"
## [275] "corridor floor, and as it drew nearer to the sliver of firelight, he"
## [276] "realized with a thrill of terror that it was a gigantic snake, at least"
## [277] "twelve feet long. Horrified, transfixed, Frank stared as its undulating"
## [278] "body cut a wide, curving track through the thick dust on the floor,"
## [279] "coming closer and closer -- What was he to do? The only means of escape"
## [280] "was into the room where the two men sat plotting murder, yet if he"
## [281] "stayed where he was the snake would surely kill him -- But before he"
## [282] "had made his decision, the snake was level with him, and then,"
## [283] "incredibly, miraculously, it was passing; it was following the"
## [284] "spitting, hissing noises made by the cold voice beyond the door, and in"
## [285] "seconds, the tip of its diamond-patterned tail had vanished through the"
## [286] "gap. There was sweat on Frank's forehead now, and the hand on the"
## [287] "walking stick was trembling. Inside the room, the cold voice was"
## [288] "continuing to hiss, and Frank was visited by a strange idea, an"
## [289] "impossible idea...This man could talk to snakes. Frank didn't"
## [290] "understand what was going on. He wanted more than anything to be back"
## [291] "in his bed with his hot-water bottle. The problem was that his legs"
## [292] "didn't seem to want to move. As he stood there shaking and trying to"
## [293] "master himself, the cold voice switched abruptly to English"
## [294] "again. \"Nagini has interesting news, Wormtail,\" it"
## [295] "said. \"In-indeed, My Lord?\" said Wormtail. \"Indeed, yes,\" said"
## [296] "the voice, \"According to Nagini, there is an old Muggle standing right"
## [297] "outside this room, listening to every word we say.\" Frank didn't"
## [298] "have a chance to hide himself. There were footsteps and then the door"
## [299] "of the room was flung wide open. A short, balding man with graying"
## [300] "hair, a pointed nose, and small, watery eyes stood before Frank, a"
## [301] "mixture of fear and alarm in his face. \"Invite him inside, Wormtail."
## [302] "Where are your manners?\" The cold voice was coming from the ancient"
## [303] "armchair before the fire, but Frank couldn't see the speaker. the"
## [304] "snake, on the other hand, was curled up on the rotting hearth rug, like"
## [305] "some horrible travesty of a pet dog. Wormtail beckoned Frank into"
## [306] "the room. Though still deeply shaken, Frank took a firmer grip on"
## [307] "his walking stick and limped over the threshold. The fire was the"
## [308] "only source of light in the room; it cast long, spidery shadows upon"
## [309] "the walls. Frank stared at the back of the armchair; the man inside it"
## [310] "seemed to be even smaller than his servant, for Frank couldn't even see"
## [311] "the back of his head. \"You heard everything, Muggle?\" said the cold"
## [312] "voice. \"What's that you're calling me?\" said Frank defiantly, for"
## [313] "now that he was inside the room, now that the time had come for some"
## [314] "sort of action, he felt braver; it had always been so in the war. \"I"
## [315] "am calling you a Muggle,\" said the voice coolly. \"It means that you are"
## [316] "not a wizard.\" \"I don't know what you mean by wizard,\" said Frank,"
## [317] "his voice growing steadier. \"All I know is I've heard enough to"
## [318] "interest the police tonight, I have. You've done murder and you're"
## [319] "planning more! And I'll tell youthis too,\" he added, on a sudden"
## [320] "inspiration, \"my wife knows I'm up here, and if I don't come back"
## [321] "--\" \"You have no wife,\" said te cold voice, very quietly. \"Nobody"
## [322] "knows you are here. You told nobody that you were coming. Do not lie to"
## [323] "Lord Voldemort, Muggle, for he knows...he always knows...\" \"Is that"
## [324] "right?\" said Frank roughly. \"Lord, is it? Well, I don't think much of"
## [325] "your manners, My Lord. Turn 'round and face me like a man, why don't"
## [326] "you?\" \"But I am not a man, Muggle,\" said the cold voice, barely"
## [327] "audible now over the crackling of the flames. \"I am much, much more"
## [328] "than a man. However...why not? I will face you...Wormtail, come turn my"
## [329] "chair around.\" The servant gave a whimper. \"You heard me,"
## [330] "Wormtail.\" Slowly, with his face screwed up, as though he would"
## [331] "rather have done anything than approach his master and the hearth rug"
## [332] "where the snake lay, the small man walked forward and began to turn the"
## [333] "chair. The snake lifted its ugly triangular head and hissed slightly as"
## [334] "the legs of the chair snagged on its rug. And then the chair was"
## [335] "facing Frank, and he saw what was sitting in it. His walking stick fell"
## [336] "to the floor with a clatter. He opened his mouth and let out a scream."
## [337] "He was screaming so loudly that he never heard the words the thing in"
## [338] "the chair spoke as it raised a wand. There was a flash of green light,"
## [339] "a rushing sound, and Frank Bryce crumpled. He was dead before he hit"
## [340] "the floor. Two hundred miles away, the boy called Harry Potter woke"
## [341] "with a start."
## document TTR C R CTTR U S K
## 1 1 0.057427 0.765015 25.08784 17.73978 22.47248 0.8390321 72.85608
## I D Vm Maas lgV0 lgeV0
## 1 0.4526727 0.007280407 0.08481962 0.2109476 6.272877 14.44383
## document MATTR
## 1 1 0.5267227
order_of_the_phoenix
order up!
## [1] "Dudley Demented The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to"
## [2] "a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of"
## [3] "Privet Drive. Cars that were usually gleaming stood dusty in their"
## [4] "drives and lawns that were once emerald green lay parched and yellowing"
## [5] "- 'for the use of hosepipes had been banned due to drought. Deprived of"
## [6] "their usual car-washing and lawn-mowing pursuits, the inhabitants of"
## [7] "Privet Drive had retreated into the shade of their cool houses, windows"
## [8] "thrown wide in the hope of tempting in a nonexistent breeze. The only"
## [9] "person left outdoors was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back"
## [10] "in a flowerbed outside number four. He was a skinny, black-haired,"
## [11] "bespectacled boy who had the pinched, slightly unhealthy look of"
## [12] "someone who has grown a lot in a short space of time. His jeans were"
## [13] "torn and dirty, his T-shirt baggy and faded, and the soles of his"
## [14] "trainers were peeling away from the uppers. Harry Potters appearance"
## [15] "did not endear him to the neighbours, who were the sort of people who"
## [16] "thought scruffiness ought to be punishable by law, but as he had hidden"
## [17] "himself behind a large hydrangea bush this evening he was quite"
## [18] "invisible to passers-by. In fact, the only way he would be spotted was"
## [19] "if his Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia stuck their heads out of the"
## [20] "living-room window and looked straight down into the flowerbed below. "
## [21] " On the whole, Harry thought he was to be congratulated on his idea of"
## [22] "hiding here. He was not, perhaps, very comfortable lying on the hot,"
## [23] "hard earth but, on the other hand, nobody was glaring at him, grinding"
## [24] "their teeth so loudly that he could not hear the news, or shooting"
## [25] "nasty questions at him, as had happened every time he had tried sitting"
## [26] "down in the living room to watch television with his aunt and uncle. "
## [27] "Almost as though this thought had fluttered through the open window,"
## [28] "Vernon Dursley, Harry's uncle, suddenly spoke. 'Glad to see the"
## [29] "boy's stopped trying to butt in. Where is he, anyway?' 'I don't"
## [30] "know,' said Aunt Petunia, unconcerned. 'Not in the house.' Uncle"
## [31] "Vernon grunted. 'Watching the news . . .' he said scathingly. 'I'd"
## [32] "like to know what he's really up to. As if a normal boy cares what's on"
## [33] "the news - 'Dudley hasn't got a clue what's going on; doubt he knows"
## [34] "who the Prime Minister is! Anyway, it's not as if there'd be anything"
## [35] "about his lot on our news - ' 'Vernon, shh!' said Aunt Petunia. The"
## [36] "window's open!' 'Oh - yes - sorry, dear.' The Dursleys fell"
## [37] "silent. Harry listened to a jingle about Fruit 'n' Bran breakfast"
## [38] "cereal while he watched Mrs Figg, a batty cat-loving old lady from"
## [39] "nearby Wisteria Walk, amble slowly past. She was frowning and muttering"
## [40] "to herself. Harry was very pleased he was concealed behind the bush, as"
## [41] "Mrs Figg had recently taken to asking him round for tea whenever she"
## [42] "met him in the street. She had rounded the corner and vanished from"
## [43] "view before Uncle Vernon's voice floated out of the window again. "
## [44] "'Dudders out for tea?' 'At the Polkisses',' said Aunt Petunia"
## [45] "fondly. 'He's got so many little friends, he's so popular . . .' "
## [46] "Harry suppressed a snort with difficulty. The Dursleys really were"
## [47] "astonishingly stupid about their son, Dudley. They had swallowed all"
## [48] "his dim-witted lies about having tea with a different member of his"
## [49] "gang every night of the summer holidays. Harry knew perfectly well that"
## [50] "Dudley had not been to tea anywhere; he and his gang spent every"
## [51] "evening vandalising the play park, smoking on street corners and"
## [52] "throwing stones at passing cars and children. Harry had seen them at it"
## [53] "during his evening walks around Little Whinging; he had spent most of"
## [54] "the holidays wandering the streets, scavenging newspapers from bins"
## [55] "along the way. The opening notes of the music that heralded the"
## [56] "seven o'clock news reached Harry's ears and his stomach turned over."
## [57] "Perhaps tonight - after a month of waiting - would be the night. "
## [58] "'Record numbers of stranded holidaymakers fill airports as the Spanish"
## [59] "baggage-handlers' strike reaches its second week - ' 'Give 'em a"
## [60] "lifelong siesta, I would,' snarled Uncle Vernon over the end of the"
## [61] "newsreaders sentence, but no matter: outside in the flowerbed, Harry's"
## [62] "stomach seemed to unclench. If anything had happened, it would surely"
## [63] "have been the first item on the news; death and destruction were more"
## [64] "important than stranded holidaymakers. He let out a long, slow"
## [65] "breath and stared up at the brilliant blue sky. Every day this summer"
## [66] "had been the same: the tension, the expectation, the temporary relief,"
## [67] "and then mounting tension again . . . and always, growing more"
## [68] "insistent all the time, the question of why nothing had happened yet. "
## [69] " He kept listening, just in case there was some small clue, not"
## [70] "recognised for what it really was by the Muggles - an unexplained"
## [71] "disappearance, perhaps, or some strange accident . . . but the"
## [72] "baggage-handlers' strike was followed by news about the drought in the"
## [73] "Southeast ('I hope he's listening next door!' bellowed Uncle Vernon."
## [74] "'Him with his sprinklers on at three in the morning!'), then a"
## [75] "helicopter that had almost crashed in a field in Surrey, then a famous"
## [76] "actress's divorce from her famous husband ('As if we're interested in"
## [77] "their sordid affairs,' sniffed Aunt Petunia, who had followed the case"
## [78] "obsessively in every magazine she could lay her bony hands on). "
## [79] "Harry closed his eyes against the now blazing evening sky as the"
## [80] "newsreader said, '- and finally, Bungy the budgie has found a novel way"
## [81] "of keeping cool this summer. Bungy, who lives at the Five Feathers in"
## [82] "Barnsley, has learned to water ski! Mary Dorkins went to find out"
## [83] "more.' Harry opened his eyes. If they had reached water-skiing"
## [84] "budgerigars, there would be nothing else worth hearing. He rolled"
## [85] "cautiously on to his front and raised himself on to his knees and"
## [86] "elbows, preparing to crawl out from under the window. He had moved"
## [87] "about two inches when several things happened in very quick"
## [88] "succession. A loud, echoing crack broke the sleepy silence like a"
## [89] "gunshot; a cat streaked out from under a parked car and flew out of"
## [90] "sight; a shriek, a bellowed oath and the sound of breaking china came"
## [91] "from the Dursleys' living room, and as though this was the signal Harry"
## [92] "had been waiting for he jumped to his feet, at the same time pulling"
## [93] "from the waistband of his jeans a thin wooden wand as if he were"
## [94] "unsheathing a sword - but before he could draw himself up to full"
## [95] "height, the top of his head collided with the Dursleys' open window."
## [96] "The resultant crash made Aunt Petunia scream even louder. Harry felt"
## [97] "as though his head had been split in two. Eyes streaming, he swayed,"
## [98] "trying to focus on the street to spot the source of the noise, but he"
## [99] "had barely staggered upright when two large purple hands reached"
## [100] "through the open window and closed tightly around his throat. 'Put -"
## [101] "it - away!' Uncle Vernon snarled into Harry's ear. 'Now! Before -"
## [102] "anyone - sees!' 'Get - off - me!' Harry gasped. For a few seconds"
## [103] "they struggled, Harry pulling at his uncle's sausage-like fingers with"
## [104] "his left hand, his right maintaining a firm grip on his raised wand;"
## [105] "then, as the pain in the top of Harry's head gave a particularly nasty"
## [106] "throb, Uncle Vernon yelped and released Harry as though he had received"
## [107] "an electric shock. Some invisible force seemed to have surged through"
## [108] "his nephew, making him impossible to hold. Panting, Harry fell"
## [109] "forwards over the hydrangea bush, straightened up and stared around."
## [110] "There was no sign of what had caused the loud cracking noise, but there"
## [111] "were several faces peering through various nearby windows. Harry"
## [112] "stuffed his wand hastily back into his jeans and tried to look"
## [113] "innocent. 'Lovely evening!' shouted Uncle Vernon, waving at Mrs"
## [114] "Number Seven opposite, who was glaring from behind her net curtains."
## [115] "'Did you hear that car backfire just now? Gave Petunia and me quite a"
## [116] "turn!' He continued to grin in a horrible, manic way until all the"
## [117] "curious neighbours had disappeared from their various windows, then the"
## [118] "grin became a grimace of rage as he beckoned Harry back towards him. "
## [119] "Harry moved a few steps closer, taking care to stop just short of the"
## [120] "point at which Uncle Vernon's outstretched hands could resume their"
## [121] "strangling. 'What the devil do you mean by it, boy?' asked Uncle"
## [122] "Vernon in a croaky voice that trembled with fury. 'What do I mean by"
## [123] "what?' said Harry coldly. He kept looking left and right up the street,"
## [124] "still hoping to see the person who had made the cracking noise. "
## [125] "'Making a racket like a starting pistol right outside our - ' 'I"
## [126] "didn't make that noise,' said Harry firmly. Aunt Petunia's thin,"
## [127] "horsy face now appeared beside Uncle Vernon's wide, purple one. She"
## [128] "looked livid. 'Why were you lurking under our window?' 'Yes -"
## [129] "yes, good point, Petunia! What were you doing under our window, boy?' "
## [130] " 'Listening to the news,' said Harry in a resigned voice. His aunt"
## [131] "and uncle exchanged looks of outrage. 'Listening to the news!"
## [132] "Again?' 'Well, it changes every day, you see,' said Harry. 'Don't"
## [133] "you be clever with me, boy! I want to know what you're really up to -"
## [134] "and don't give me any more of this listening to the news tosh! You know"
## [135] "perfectly well that your lot - ' 'Careful, Vernon!' breathed Aunt"
## [136] "Petunia, and Uncle Vernon lowered his voice so that Harry could barely"
## [137] "hear him,' - that your lot don't get on our news!' That's all you"
## [138] "know,' said Harry. The Dursleys goggled at him for a few seconds,"
## [139] "then Aunt Petunia said, 'You're a nasty little liar. What are all those"
## [140] "- ' she, too, lowered her voice so that Harry had to lip-read the next"
## [141] "word, ' - owls doing if they're not bringing you news?' 'Aha!' said"
## [142] "Uncle Vernon in a triumphant whisper. 'Get out of that one, boy! As if"
## [143] "we didn't know you get all your news from those pestilential birds!' "
## [144] "Harry hesitated for a moment. It cost him something to tell the truth"
## [145] "this time, even though his aunt and uncle could not possibly know how"
## [146] "bad he felt at admitting it. 'The owls . . . aren't bringing me"
## [147] "news,' he said tonelessly. 'I don't believe it,' said Aunt Petunia"
## [148] "at once. 'No more do I,' said Uncle Vernon forcefully. 'We know"
## [149] "you're up to something funny' said Aunt Petunia. 'We're not stupid,"
## [150] "you know,' said Uncle Vernon. 'Well, that's news to me,' said Harry,"
## [151] "his temper rising, and before the Dursleys could call him back, he had"
## [152] "wheeled about, crossed the front lawn, stepped over the low garden wall"
## [153] "and was striding off up the street. He was in trouble now and he"
## [154] "knew it. He would have to face his aunt and uncle later and pay the"
## [155] "price for his rudeness, but he: did not care very much just at the"
## [156] "moment; he had much more pressing matters on his mind. Harry was"
## [157] "sure the cracking noise had been made by someone Apparating or"
## [158] "Disapparating. It was exactly the sound Dobby the house-elf made when"
## [159] "he vanished into thin air. Was it possible that Dobby was here in"
## [160] "Privet Drive? Could Dobby be following him right at this very moment?"
## [161] "As this thought occurred he wheeled around and stared back down Privet"
## [162] "Drive, but it appeared to be completely deserted and Harry was sure"
## [163] "that Dobby did not know how to become invisible. He walked on,"
## [164] "hardly aware of the route he was taking, for he had pounded these"
## [165] "streets so often lately that his feet carried him to his favourite"
## [166] "haunts automatically. Every few steps he glanced back over his"
## [167] "shoulder. Someone magical had been near him as he lay among Aunt"
## [168] "Petunia's dying begonias, he was sure of it. Why hadn't they spoken to"
## [169] "him, why hadn't they made contact, why were they hiding now? And"
## [170] "then, as his feeling of frustration peaked, his certainty leaked away. "
## [171] " Perhaps it hadn't been a magical sound after all. Perhaps he was so"
## [172] "desperate for the tiniest sign of contact from the world to which he"
## [173] "belonged that he was simply overreacting to perfectly ordinary noises."
## [174] "Could he be sure it hadn't been the sound of something breaking inside"
## [175] "a neighbour's house? Harry felt a dull, sinking sensation in his"
## [176] "stomach and before he knew it the feeling of hopelessness that had"
## [177] "plagued him all summer rolled over him once again. Tomorrow morning"
## [178] "he would be woken by the alarm at five o'clock so he could pay the owl"
## [179] "that delivered the Daily Prophet - but was there any point continuing"
## [180] "to take it? Harry merely glanced at the front page before throwing it"
## [181] "aside these days; when the idiots who ran the paper finally realised"
## [182] "that Voldemort was back it would be headline news, and that was the"
## [183] "only kind Harry cared about. If he was lucky, there would also be"
## [184] "owls carrying letters from his best friends Ron and Hermione, though"
## [185] "any expectation he'd had that their letters would bring him news had"
## [186] "long since been dashed. We can't say much about you-know-what,"
## [187] "obviously . . . We've been told not to say anything important in case"
## [188] "our letters go astray . . . We're quite busy but I can't give you"
## [189] "details here . . . There's a fair amount going on, we'll tell you"
## [190] "everything when we see you . . . But when were they going to see"
## [191] "him? Nobody seemed too bothered with a precise date. Hermione had"
## [192] "scribbled I expect we'll be seeing you quite soon inside his birthday"
## [193] "card, but how soon was soon? As far as Harry could tell from the vague"
## [194] "hints in their letters, Hermione and Ron were in the same place,"
## [195] "presumably at Ron's parents' house. He could hardly bear to think of"
## [196] "the pair of them having fun at The Burrow when he was stuck in Privet"
## [197] "Drive. In fact, he was so angry with them he had thrown away, unopened,"
## [198] "the two boxes of Honeydukes chocolates they'd sent him for his"
## [199] "birthday. He'd regretted it later, after the wilted salad Aunt Petunia"
## [200] "had provided for dinner that night. And what were Ron and Hermione"
## [201] "busy with? Why wasn't he, Harry, busy? Hadn't he proved himself capable"
## [202] "of handling much more than them? Had they all forgotten what he had"
## [203] "done? Hadn't it been he who had entered that graveyard and watched"
## [204] "Cedric being murdered, and been tied to that tombstone and nearly"
## [205] "killed? Don't think about that, Harry told himself sternly for the"
## [206] "hundredth time that summer. It was bad enough that he kept revisiting"
## [207] "the graveyard in his nightmares, without dwelling on it in his waking"
## [208] "moments too. He turned a corner into Magnolia Crescent; halfway"
## [209] "along he passed the narrow alleyway down the side of a garage where he"
## [210] "had first clapped eyes on his godfather. Sirius, at least, seemed to"
## [211] "understand how Harry was feeling. Admittedly, his letters were just as"
## [212] "empty of proper news as Ron and Hermione's, but at least they contained"
## [213] "words of caution and consolation instead of tantalising hints: I know"
## [214] "this must be frustrating for you . . . Keep your nose clean and"
## [215] "everything will be OK . . .Be careful and don't do anything rash . . . "
## [216] " Well, thought Harry, as he crossed Magnolia Crescent, turned into"
## [217] "Magnolia Road and headed towards the darkening play park, he had (by"
## [218] "and large) done as Sirius advised. He had at least resisted the"
## [219] "temptation to tie his trunk to his broomstick and set off for The"
## [220] "Burrow by himself. In fact, Harry thought his behaviour had been very"
## [221] "good considering how frustrated and angry he felt at being stuck in"
## [222] "Privet Drive so long, reduced to hiding in flowerbeds in the hope of"
## [223] "hearing something that might point to what Lord Voldemort was doing."
## [224] "Nevertheless, it was quite galling to be told not to be rash by a man"
## [225] "who had served twelve years in the wizard prison, Azkaban, escaped,"
## [226] "attempted to commit the murder he had been convicted for in the first"
## [227] "place, then gone on the run with a stolen Hippogriff. Harry vaulted"
## [228] "over the locked park gate and set off across the parched grass. The"
## [229] "park was as empty as the surrounding streets. When he reached the"
## [230] "swings he sank on to the only one that Dudley and his friends had not"
## [231] "yet managed to break, coiled one arm around the chain and stared"
## [232] "moodily at the ground. He would not be able to hide in the Dursleys'"
## [233] "flowerbed again. Tomorrow, he would have to think of some fresh way of"
## [234] "listening to the news. In the meantime, he had nothing to look forward"
## [235] "to but another restless, disturbed night, because even when he escaped"
## [236] "the nightmares about Cedric he had unsettling dreams about long dark"
## [237] "corridors, all finishing in dead ends and locked doors, which he"
## [238] "supposed had something to do with the trapped feeling he had when he"
## [239] "was awake. Often the old scar on his forehead prickled uncomfortably,"
## [240] "but he did not fool himself that Ron or Hermione or Sirius would find"
## [241] "that very interesting any more. In the past, his scar hurting had"
## [242] "warned that Voldemort was getting stronger again, but now that"
## [243] "Voldemort was back they would probably remind him that its regular"
## [244] "irritation was only to be expected . . . nothing to worry about . . ."
## [245] "old news . . . The injustice of it all welled up inside him so that"
## [246] "he wanted to yell with fury. If it hadn't been for him, nobody would"
## [247] "even have known Voldemort was back! And. his reward was to be stuck in"
## [248] "Little Whinging for four solid weeks, completely cut off from the"
## [249] "magical world, reduced to squatting among dying begonias so hat he"
## [250] "could hear about water-skiing budgerigars! How could Dumbledore have"
## [251] "forgotten him so easily? Why had Ron and Hermione got together without"
## [252] "inviting him along, too? How much longer was he supposed to endure"
## [253] "Sirius telling him to sit tight and be a good boy; or resist the"
## [254] "temptation to write to the stupid Daily Prophet and point out that"
## [255] "Voldemort had returned? These curious thoughts whirled around in"
## [256] "Harry's head, and his insides writhed with anger as a sultry, velvety"
## [257] "night fell around him, the air full of the smell of warm, dry grass,"
## [258] "and the only sound that of the low grumble of traffic on the road"
## [259] "beyond the park railings. He did not know how long he had sat on the"
## [260] "swing before the sound of voices interrupted his musings and he looked"
## [261] "up. The streetlamps from the surrounding roads were casting a misty"
## [262] "glow strong enough to silhouette a group of people making their way"
## [263] "across the park. One of them was singing a loud, crude song. The others"
## [264] "were laughing. A soft ticking noise came from several expensive racing"
## [265] "bikes that they were wheeling along. Harry knew who those people"
## [266] "were. The figure in front was unmistakeably his cousin, Dudley Dursley"
## [267] "wending his way home, accompanied by his faithful gang. Dudley was"
## [268] "as vast as ever, but a year's hard dieting and the discovery of a new"
## [269] "talent had wrought quite a change in his physique. As Uncle Vernon"
## [270] "delightedly told anyone who would listen, Dudley had recently become"
## [271] "the Junior Heavyweight Inter-school Boxing Champion of the Southeast."
## [272] "'The noble sport', as Uncle Vernon called it, had made Dudley even more"
## [273] "formidable than he had seemed to Harry in their primary school days"
## [274] "when he had served as Dudley's first punchball. Harry was not remotely"
## [275] "afraid of his cousin any more but he still didn't think that Dudley"
## [276] "earning to punch harder and more accurately was cause for celebration."
## [277] "Neighbourhood children all around were terrified of him - even more"
## [278] "terrified than they were of 'that Potter boy' who, they lad been"
## [279] "warned, was a hardened hooligan and attended St Brutus's secure Centre"
## [280] "for Incurably Criminal Boys. Harry watched the dark figures crossing"
## [281] "the grass and wondered who they had been beating up tonight. Look"
## [282] "round, Harry found himself thinking as he watched them. Come on . . ."
## [283] "look round . . . I'm sitting here all alone . . . come and have a go ."
## [284] ". . If Dudley's friends saw him sitting here, they would be sure to"
## [285] "make a beeline for him, and what would Dudley do then? He wouldn't want"
## [286] "to lose face in front of the gang, but he'd be terrified of provoking"
## [287] "Harry . . . it would be really fun to watch Dudley's dilemma, to taunt"
## [288] "him, watch him, with him powerless to respond . . . and if any of the"
## [289] "others tried hitting Harry, he was ready - he had his wand. Let them"
## [290] "try . . . he'd love to vent some of his frustration on the boys who had"
## [291] "once made his life hell. But they didn't turn around, they didn't"
## [292] "see him, they were almost at the railings. Harry mastered the impulse"
## [293] "to call after them . . . seeking a fight was not a smart move . . . he"
## [294] "must not use magic he would be risking expulsion again. The voices"
## [295] "of Dudley's gang died away; they were out of sight, heading along"
## [296] "Magnolia Road. There you go, Sirius, Harry thought dully. Nothing"
## [297] "rash. Kept my nose clean. Exactly the opposite of what you'd have"
## [298] "done. He got to his feet and stretched. Aunt Petunia and Uncle"
## [299] "Vernon seemed to feel that whenever Dudley turned up was the right time"
## [300] "to be home, and any time after that was much too late. Uncle Vernon had"
## [301] "threatened to lock Harry in the shed if he came home alter Dudley ever"
## [302] "again, so, stifling a yawn, and still scowling, Harry set off towards"
## [303] "the park gate. Magnolia Road, like Privet Drive, was full of large,"
## [304] "square houses with perfectly manicured lawns, all owned by large,"
## [305] "square owners who drove very clean cars similar to Uncle Vernon's."
## [306] "Harry preferred Little Whinging by night, when the curtained windows"
## [307] "made patches of jewel-bright colour in the darkness and he ran no"
## [308] "danger of hearing disapproving mutters about his 'delinquent'"
## [309] "appearance when he passed the householders. He walked quickly, so that"
## [310] "halfway along Magnolia Road Dudley's gang came into view again; they"
## [311] "were saying their farewells at the entrance to Magnolia Crescent. Harry"
## [312] "stepped into the shadow of a large lilac tree and waited. '. . ."
## [313] "squealed like a pig, didn't he?' Malcolm was saying, to guffaws from"
## [314] "the others. 'Nice right hook, Big D,' said Piers. 'Same time"
## [315] "tomorrow?' said Dudley. 'Round at my place, my parents will be out,'"
## [316] "said Gordon. 'See you then,' said Dudley. 'Bye, Dud!' 'See ya,"
## [317] "Big D!' Harry waited for the rest of the gang to move on before"
## [318] "setting off again. When their voices had faded once more he headed"
## [319] "around the corner into Magnolia Crescent and by walking very quickly he"
## [320] "soon came within hailing distance of Dudley, who was strolling along at"
## [321] "his ease, humming tunelessly. 'Hey, Big D!' Dudley turned. "
## [322] "'Oh,' he grunted. 'It's you.' 'How long have you been \"Big D\" then?'"
## [323] "said Harry. 'Shut it,' snarled Dudley, turning away. 'Cool name,'"
## [324] "said Harry, grinning and falling into step beside is cousin. 'But"
## [325] "you'll always be \"Ickle Diddykins\" to me.' 'I said, SHUT IT!' said"
## [326] "Dudley, whose ham-like hands had curled into fists. 'Don't the boys"
## [327] "know that's what your mum calls you?' 'Shut your face.' 'You"
## [328] "don't tell her to shut her face. What about \"Popkin\" and \"Dinky"
## [329] "Diddydums\", can I use them then?' Dudley said nothing. The effort of"
## [330] "keeping himself from hitting Harry seemed to demand all his"
## [331] "self-control. 'So who've you been beating up tonight?' Harry asked,"
## [332] "his grin fading. 'Another ten-year-old? I know you did Mark Evans two"
## [333] "nights ago - ' 'He was asking for it,' snarled Dudley. 'Oh"
## [334] "yeah?' 'He cheeked me.' 'Yeah? Did he say you look like a pig"
## [335] "that's been taught to walk on its hind legs? 'Cause that's not cheek,"
## [336] "Dud, that's true.' A muscle was twitching in Dudley's jaw. It gave"
## [337] "Harry enormous satisfaction to know how furious he was making Dudley;"
## [338] "he felt as though he was siphoning off his own frustration into his"
## [339] "cousin, the only outlet he had. They turned right down the narrow"
## [340] "alleyway where Harry had first seen Sirius and which formed a short cut"
## [341] "between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. It was empty and much"
## [342] "darker than the streets it linked because there were no streetlamps."
## [343] "Their footsteps were muffled between garage walls on one side and a"
## [344] "high fence on the other. Think you're a big man carrying that thing,"
## [345] "don't you?' Dudley said after a few seconds. 'What thing?' That -"
## [346] "that thing you are hiding.' Harry grinned again. 'Not as stupid"
## [347] "as you look, are you, Dud? But I s'pose, if you were, you wouldn't be"
## [348] "able to walk and talk at the same time.' Harry pulled out his wand."
## [349] "He saw Dudley look sideways at it. 'You're not allowed,' Dudley said"
## [350] "at once. 'I know you're not. You'd get expelled from that freak school"
## [351] "you go to.' 'How d'you know they haven't changed the rules, Big D?' "
## [352] " They haven't,' said Dudley, though he didn't sound completely"
## [353] "convinced. Harry laughed softly. 'You haven't got the guts to"
## [354] "take me on without that thing, have you?' Dudley snarled. 'Whereas"
## [355] "you just need four mates behind you before you can beat up a ten year"
## [356] "old. You know that boxing title you keep banging on about? How old was"
## [357] "your opponent? Seven? Eight?' 'He was sixteen, for your"
## [358] "information,' snarled Dudley, 'and he was out cold for twenty minutes"
## [359] "after I'd finished with him and he was twice as heavy as you. You just"
## [360] "wait till I tell Dad you had that thing out - 'Running to Daddy now,"
## [361] "are you? Is his ickle boxing champ frightened of nasty Harry's wand?' "
## [362] " 'Not this brave at night, are you?' sneered Dudley. 'This is"
## [363] "night, Diddykins. That's what we call it when it goes all dark like"
## [364] "this.' 'I mean when you're in bed!' Dudley snarled. He had"
## [365] "stopped walking. Harry stopped too, staring at his cousin. From the"
## [366] "little he could see of Dudley's large face, he was wearing a strangely"
## [367] "triumphant look. 'What d'you mean, I'm not brave when I'm in bed?'"
## [368] "said Harry, Completely nonplussed. 'What am I supposed to be frightened"
## [369] "of, pillows or something?' 'I heard you last night,' said Dudley"
## [370] "breathlessly. Talking in your sleep. Moaning.' 'What d'you mean?'"
## [371] "Harry said again, but there was a cold, plunging sensation in his"
## [372] "stomach. He had revisited the graveyard last night in his dreams. "
## [373] "Dudley gave a harsh bark of laughter, then adopted a high-pitched"
## [374] "whimpering voice. ' \"Don't kill Cedric! Don't kill Cedric!\" Who's"
## [375] "Cedric - your boyfriend?' 'I - you're lying,' said Harry"
## [376] "automatically. But his mouth had gone dry. He knew Dudley wasn't lying"
## [377] "- how else would he know about Cedric? ' \"Dad! Help me, Dad! He's"
## [378] "going to kill me, Dad! Boo hoo!'' ' 'Shut up,' said Harry quietly."
## [379] "'Shut up, Dudley, I'm warning you!' ' \"Come and help me, Dad! Mum,"
## [380] "come and help me! He's killed Cedric! Dad, help me! He's going to - \""
## [381] "Don't you point that thing at me!' Dudley backed into the alley"
## [382] "wall. Harry was pointing the wand directly at Dudley's heart. Harry"
## [383] "could feel fourteen years' hatred of Dudley pounding in his veins -"
## [384] "what wouldn't he give to strike now, to jinx Dudley so thoroughly he'd"
## [385] "have to crawl home like an insect, struck dumb, sprouting feelers . ."
## [386] ". 'Don't ever talk about that again,' Harry snarled. 'D'you"
## [387] "understand me?' 'Point that thing somewhere else!' 'I said, do"
## [388] "you understand me?' 'Point it somewhere else!' 'DO YOU UNDERSTAND"
## [389] "ME?' 'GET THAT THING AWAY FROM - ' Dudley gave an odd. shuddering"
## [390] "gasp, as though he had been doused in icy water. Something had"
## [391] "happened to the night. The star-strewn indigo sky was suddenly pitch"
## [392] "black and lightless - the stars, the moon, the misty streetlamps at"
## [393] "either end of the alley had vanished. The distant rumble of cars and"
## [394] "the whisper of trees had gone. The balmy evening was suddenly"
## [395] "piercingly, bitingly cold. They were surrounded by total, impenetrable,"
## [396] "silent darkness, as though some giant hand had dropped a thick, icy"
## [397] "mantle over the entire alleyway, blinding them. For a split second"
## [398] "Harry thought he had done magic without meaning to, despite the fact"
## [399] "that he'd been resisting as hard as he could - then his reason caught"
## [400] "up with his senses - he didn't have the power to turn off the stars. He"
## [401] "turned his head this way and that, trying to see something, but the"
## [402] "darkness pressed on his eyes like a weightless veil. Dudley's"
## [403] "terrified voice broke in Harry's ear. 'W-what are you d-doing?"
## [404] "St-stop it!' 'I'm not doing anything! Shut up and don't move!' 'I"
## [405] "c-can't see! I've g-gone blind! I - ' 'I said shut up!' Harry"
## [406] "stood stock still, turning his sightless eyes left and right. The cold"
## [407] "was so intense he was shivering all over; goose bumps had erupted up"
## [408] "his arms and the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up - he"
## [409] "opened his eyes to their fullest extent, staring blankly around,"
## [410] "unseeing. It was impossible . . . they couldn't be here . . . not in"
## [411] "Little Whinging . . . he strained his ears . . . he would hear them"
## [412] "before he saw them . . . 'I'll t-tell Dad!' Dudley whimpered."
## [413] "'W-where are you? What are you d-do-?' 'Will you shut up?' Harry"
## [414] "hissed, 'I'm trying to lis- ' But he fell silent. He had heard just"
## [415] "the thing he had been dreading. There was something in the alleyway"
## [416] "apart from themselves, something that was drawing long, hoarse,"
## [417] "rattling breaths. Harry felt a horrible jolt of dread as he stood"
## [418] "trembling in the freezing air. 'C-cut it out! Stop doing it! I'll"
## [419] "h-hit you, I swear I will!' 'Dudley, shut - ' WHAM. A fist"
## [420] "made contact with the side of Harry's head, lifting him off his feet."
## [421] "Small white lights popped in front of his eyes. For the second time in"
## [422] "an hour Harry felt as though his head had been cleaved in two; next"
## [423] "moment, he had landed hard on the ground and his wand had flown out of"
## [424] "his hand. 'You moron, Dudley!' Harry yelled, his eyes watering with"
## [425] "pain as he scrambled to his hands and knees, feeling around frantically"
## [426] "n the blackness. He heard Dudley blundering away, hitting the alley"
## [427] "fence, stumbling. 'DUDLEY, COME BACK! YOU'RE RUNNING RIGHT AT IT!' "
## [428] " There was a horrible squealing yell and Dudley's footsteps topped. At"
## [429] "the same moment, Harry felt a creeping chill behind him that could mean"
## [430] "only one thing. There was more than one. 'DUDLEY, KEEP YOUR MOUTH"
## [431] "SHUT! WHATEVER YOU DO, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! Wand!' Harry muttered"
## [432] "frantically, his hands flying over the ground like spiders. 'Where's -"
## [433] "wand - come on - lumos!' He said the spell automatically, desperate"
## [434] "for light to help him n his search - and to his disbelieving relief,"
## [435] "light flared inches from his right hand - the wand tip had ignited."
## [436] "Harry snatched it up, scrambled to his feet and turned around. His"
## [437] "stomach turned over. A towering, hooded figure was gliding smoothly"
## [438] "towards him, hovering over the ground, no feet or face visible beneath"
## [439] "its robes, sucking on the night as it came. Stumbling backwards,"
## [440] "Harry raised his wand. 'Expecto patronum!' A silvery wisp of"
## [441] "vapour shot from the tip of the wand and the Dementor slowed, but the"
## [442] "spell hadn't worked properly; tripping over his own feet, Harry"
## [443] "retreated further as the Dementor bore down upon him, panic fogging his"
## [444] "brain - concentrate - A pair of grey, slimy, scabbed hands slid from"
## [445] "inside the Dementor's robes, reaching for him. A rushing noise filled"
## [446] "Harry's ears. 'Expecto patronum!' His voice sounded dim and"
## [447] "distant. Another wisp of silver smoke, feebler than the last, drifted"
## [448] "from the wand - he couldn't do it any more, he couldn't work the"
## [449] "spell. There was laughter inside his own head, shrill, high-pitched"
## [450] "laughter . . . he could smell the Dementor's putrid, death-cold breath"
## [451] "filling his own lungs, drowning him - think . . . something happy . ."
## [452] ". But there was no happiness in him . . . the Dementor's icy fingers"
## [453] "were closing on his throat - the high-patched laughter was growing"
## [454] "louder and louder, and a voice spoke inside his head: 'Bow to death,"
## [455] "Harry . . . it might even be painless . . . I would not know . . . I"
## [456] "have never died He was never going to see Ron and Hermione again - "
## [457] " And their faces burst clearly into his mind as he fought for breath. "
## [458] " 'EXPECTO PATRONUM!' An enormous silver stag erupted from the tip"
## [459] "of Harry's wand; it's antlers caught the Dementor in the place where"
## [460] "the heart should have been; it was thrown backwards, weightless as"
## [461] "darkness, and as the stag charged, the Dementor swooped away, bat-like"
## [462] "and defeated. 'THIS WAY!' Harry shouted at the stag. Wheeling"
## [463] "around, he sprinted down the alleyway, holding the lit wand aloft."
## [464] "'DUDLEY? DUDLEY!' He had run barely a dozen steps when he reached"
## [465] "them: Dudley was curled up on the ground, his arms clamped over his"
## [466] "face. A second Dementor was crouching low over him, gripping his wrists"
## [467] "in its slimy hands, prising them slowly, almost lovingly apart,"
## [468] "lowering its hooded head towards Dudley's face as though about to kiss"
## [469] "him. 'GET IT!' Harry bellowed, and with a rushing, roaring sound,"
## [470] "the silver stag he had conjured came galloping past him. The Dementor's"
## [471] "eyeless face was barely an inch from Dudley's when the silver antlers"
## [472] "caught it; the thing was thrown up into the air and, like its fellow,"
## [473] "it soared away and was absorbed into the darkness; the stag cantered to"
## [474] "the end of the alleyway and dissolved into silver mist. Moon, stars"
## [475] "and streetlamps burst back into life. A warm breeze swept the alleyway."
## [476] "Trees rustled in neighbouring gardens and the mundane rumble of cars in"
## [477] "Magnolia Crescent filled the air again. Harry stood quite still, all"
## [478] "his senses vibrating, taking in the abrupt return to normality. After a"
## [479] "moment, he became aware that his T-shirt was sticking to him; he was"
## [480] "drenched in sweat. He could not believe what had just happened."
## [481] "Dementors here, in Little Whinging. Dudley lay curled up on the"
## [482] "ground, whimpering and shaking. Harry bent down to see whether he was"
## [483] "in a fit state to stand up, but then he heard loud, running footsteps"
## [484] "behind him. Instinctively raising his wand again, he span on his heel"
## [485] "to face the newcomer. Mrs Figg, their batty old neighbour, came"
## [486] "panting into sight. Her grizzled grey hair was escaping from its"
## [487] "hairnet, a clanking String shopping bag was swinging from her wrist and"
## [488] "her feet were halfway out of her tartan carpet slippers. Harry made to"
## [489] "stow his wand hurriedly out of sight, but - 'Don't put it away,"
## [490] "idiot boy!' she shrieked. 'What if there are more of them around? Oh,"
## [491] "I'm going to kill Mundungus Fletcher!' "
| document | TTR | C | R | CTTR | U | S | K | I | D | Vm | Maas | lgV0 | lgeV0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.05 | 0.76 | 26.37 | 18.65 | 22.8 | 0.84 | 69.38 | 0.39 | 0.01 | 0.08 | 0.21 | 6.38 | 14.69 |
| document | MATTR |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.53 |
half_blood_prince
dark!
## [1] " It was nearing midnight and the Prime Minister was sitting alone in"
## [2] "his office, reading a long memo that was slipping through his brain"
## [3] "without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind. He was waiting"
## [4] "for a call from the President of a far distant country, and between"
## [5] "wondering when the wretched man would telephone, and trying to suppress"
## [6] "unpleasant memories of what had been a very long, tiring, and difficult"
## [7] "week, there was not much space in his head for anything else. The more"
## [8] "he attempted to focus on the print on the page before him, the more"
## [9] "clearly the Prime Minister could see the gloating face of one of his"
## [10] "political opponents. This particular opponent had appeared on the news"
## [11] "that very day, not only to enumerate all the terrible things that had"
## [12] "happened in the last week (as though anyone needed reminding) but also"
## [13] "to explain why each and every one of them was the government's"
## [14] "fault. The Prime Minister's pulse quickened at the very thought of"
## [15] "these accusations, for they were neither fair nor true. How on earth"
## [16] "was his government supposed to have stopped that bridge collapsing? It"
## [17] "was outrageous for anybody to suggest that they were not spending"
## [18] "enough on bridges. The bridge was fewer than ten years old, and the"
## [19] "best experts were at a loss to explain why it had snapped cleanly in"
## [20] "two, sending a dozen cars into the watery depths of the river below."
## [21] "And how dare anyone suggest that it was lack of policemen that had"
## [22] "resulted in those two very nasty and well-publicized murders? Or that"
## [23] "the government should have somehow foreseen the freak hurricane in the"
## [24] "West Country that had caused so much damage to both people and"
## [25] "property? And was it his fault that one of his Junior Ministers,"
## [26] "Herbert Chorley, had chosen this week to act so peculiarly that he was"
## [27] "now going to be spending a lot more time with his family?\"A grim mood"
## [28] "has gripped the country,\" the opponent had concluded, barely concealing"
## [29] "his own broad grin.And unfortunately, this was perfectly true. The"
## [30] "Prime Minister felt it himself; people really did seem more miserable"
## [31] "than usual. Even the weather was dismal; all this chilly mist in the"
## [32] "middle of July... It wasn't right, it wasn't normal...He turned over"
## [33] "the second page of the memo, saw how much longer it went on, and gave"
## [34] "it up as a bad job. Stretching his arms above his head he looked around"
## [35] "his office mournfully. It was a handsome room, with a fine marble"
## [36] "fireplace facing the long sash windows, firmly closed against the"
## [37] "unseasonable chill. With a slight shiver, the Prime Minister got up and"
## [38] "moved over to the window, looking out at the thin mist that was"
## [39] "pressing itself against the glass. It was then, as he stood with his"
## [40] "back to the room, that he heard a soft cough behind him.He froze, nose"
## [41] "to nose with his own scared-looking reflection in the dark glass. He"
## [42] "knew that cough. He had heard it before. He turned very slowly to face"
## [43] "the empty room. \"Hello?\" he said, trying to sound braver than he"
## [44] "felt.For a brief moment he allowed himself the impossible hope that"
## [45] "nobody would answer him. However, a voice responded at once, a crisp,"
## [46] "decisive voice that sounded as though it were reading a prepared"
## [47] "statement. It was coming -- as the Prime Minister had known at the"
## [48] "first cough -- from the froglike little man wearing a long silver wig"
## [49] "who was depicted in a small, dirty oil painting in the far corner of"
## [50] "the room.\"To the Prime Minister of Muggles. Urgent we meet. Kindly"
## [51] "respond immediately. Sincerely, Fudge.\"The man in the painting looked"
## [52] "inquiringly at the Prime Minister.\"Er,\" said the Prime Minister,"
## [53] "\"listen... Its not a very good time for me... I'm waiting for a"
## [54] "telephone call, you see... from the President of--\"\"That can be"
## [55] "rearranged,\" said the portrait at once. The Prime Minister's heart"
## [56] "sank. He had been afraid of that.\"But I really was rather hoping to"
## [57] "speak--\"\"We shall arrange for the President to forget to call. He will"
## [58] "telephone tomorrow night instead,\" said the little man. \"Kindly respond"
## [59] "immediately to Mr. Fudge.\" \"I... oh ... very well,\" said the Prime"
## [60] "Minister weakly. \"Yes, I'll see Fudge.\"He hurried back to his desk,"
## [61] "straightening his tie as he went. He had barely resumed his seat, and"
## [62] "arranged his face into what he hoped was a relaxed and unfazed"
## [63] "expression, when bright green flames burst into life in the empty grate"
## [64] "beneath his marble mantelpiece. He watched, trying not to betray a"
## [65] "flicker of surprise or alarm, as a portly man appeared within the"
## [66] "flames, spinning as fast as a top. Seconds later, he had climbed out"
## [67] "onto a rather fine antique rug, brushing ash from the sleeves of his"
## [68] "long pin-striped cloak, a lime-green bowler hat in his hand.\"Ah..."
## [69] "Prime Minister,\" said Cornelius Fudge, striding forward with his hand"
## [70] "outstretched. \"Good to see you again.\"The Prime Minister could not"
## [71] "honestly return this compliment, so said nothing at all. He was not"
## [72] "remotely pleased to see Fudge, whose occasional appearances, apart from"
## [73] "being downright alarming in themselves, generally meant that he was"
## [74] "about to hear some very bad news. Furthermore, Fudge was looking"
## [75] "distinctly careworn. He was thinner, balder, and grayer, and his face"
## [76] "had a crumpled look. The Prime Minister had seen that kind of look in"
## [77] "politicians before, and it never boded well.\"How can I help you?\" he"
## [78] "said, shaking Fudge's hand very briefly and gesturing toward the"
## [79] "hardest of the chairs in front of the desk.\"Difficult to know where to"
## [80] "begin,\" muttered Fudge, pulling up the chair, sitting down, and placing"
## [81] "his green bowler upon his knees. \"What a week, what a week...\"\"Had a"
## [82] "bad one too, have you?\" asked the Prime Minister stiffly, hoping to"
## [83] "convey by this that he had quite enough on his plate already without"
## [84] "any extra helpings from Fudge.\"Yes, of course,\" said Fudge, rubbing his"
## [85] "eyes wearily and looking morosely at the Prime Minister. \"I've been"
## [86] "having the same week you have, Prime Minister. The Brockdale Bridge..."
## [87] "the Bones and Vance murders... not to mention the ruckus in the West"
## [88] "Country...\"\"You--er--your--I mean to say, some of your people"
## [89] "were--were involved in those--those things, were they?\"Fudge fixed the"
## [90] "Prime Minister with a rather stern look. \"Of course they were,\" he"
## [91] "said, \"Surely you've realized what's going on?\"\"I...\" hesitated the"
## [92] "Prime Minister.It was precisely this sort of behavior that made him"
## [93] "dislike Fudge's visits so much. He was, after all, the Prime Minister"
## [94] "and did not appreciate being made to feel like an ignorant schoolboy."
## [95] "But of course, it had been like this from his very first meeting with"
## [96] "Fudge on his very first evening as Prime Minister. He remembered it as"
## [97] "though it were yesterday and knew it would haunt him until his dying"
## [98] "day.He had been standing alone in this very office, savoring the"
## [99] "triumph that was his after so many years of dreaming and scheming, when"
## [100] "he had heard a cough behind him, just like tonight, and turned to find"
## [101] "that ugly little portrait talking to him, announcing that the Minister"
## [102] "of Magic was about to arrive and introduce himselfNaturally, he had"
## [103] "thought that the long campaign and the strain of the election had"
## [104] "caused him to go mad. He had been utterly terrified to find a portrait"
## [105] "talking to him, though this had been nothing to how he felt when a"
## [106] "self-proclaimed wizard had bounced out of the fireplace and shaken his"
## [107] "hand. He had remained speechless throughout Fudge's kindly explanation"
## [108] "that there were witches and wizards still living in secret all over the"
## [109] "world and his reassurances that he was not to bother his head about"
## [110] "them as the Ministry of Magic took responsibility for the whole"
## [111] "Wizarding community and prevented the non-magical population from"
## [112] "getting wind of them. It was, said Fudge, a difficult job that"
## [113] "encompassed everything from regulations on responsible use of"
## [114] "broomsticks to keeping the dragon population under control (the Prime"
## [115] "Minister remembered clutching the desk for support at this point)."
## [116] "Fudge had then patted the shoulder of the sLill-dumbstruck Prime"
## [117] "Minister in a fatherly sort of way.\"Not to worry,\" he had said, \"it's"
## [118] "odds-on you'll never see me again. I'll only bother you if there's"
## [119] "something really serious going on our end, something that's likely to"
## [120] "affect the Muggles--the non-magical population, I should say."
## [121] "Otherwise, it's live and let live. And I must say, you're taking it a"
## [122] "lot better than your predecessor. He tried to throw me out the window,"
## [123] "thought I was a hoax planned by the opposition.\"At this, the Prime"
## [124] "Minister had found his voice at last. \"You're--you're not a hoax,"
## [125] "then?\"It had been his last, desperate hope.\"No,\" said Fudge gently."
## [126] "\"No, I'm afraid I'm not. Look.\"And he had turned the Prime Minister's"
## [127] "teacup into a gerbil.\"But,\" said the Prime Minister breathlessly,"
## [128] "watching his teacup chewing on the corner of his next speech, \"but"
## [129] "why--why has nobody told me--?\"\"The Minister of Magic only reveals"
## [130] "him--or herself to the Muggle Prime Minister of the day,\" said Fudge,"
## [131] "poking his wand back inside his jacket. \"We find it the best way to"
## [132] "maintain secrecy.\"\"But then,\" bleated the Prime Minister, \"why hasn't a"
## [133] "former Prime Minister warned me--?\"At this, Fudge had actually"
## [134] "laughed.\"My dear Prime Minister, are you ever going to tell"
## [135] "anybody?\"Still chortling, Fudge had thrown some powder into the"
## [136] "fireplace, stepped into the emerald flames, and vanished with a"
## [137] "whooshing sound. The Prime Minister had stood there, quite motionless,"
## [138] "and realized that he would never, as long as he lived, dare mention"
## [139] "this encounter to a living soul, for who in the wide world would"
## [140] "believe him?The shock had taken a little while to wear off. For a time,"
## [141] "he had tried to convince himself that Fudge had indeed been a"
## [142] "hallucination brought on by lack of sleep during his grueling election"
## [143] "campaign. In a vain attempt to rid himself of all reminders of this"
## [144] "uncomfortable encounter, he had given the gerbil to his delighted niece"
## [145] "and instructed his private secretary to take down the portrait of the"
## [146] "ugly little man who had announced Fudge's arrival. To the Prime"
## [147] "Minister's dismay, however, the portrait had proved impossible to"
## [148] "remove. When several carpenters, a builder or two, an art historian,"
## [149] "and the Chancellor of the Exchequer had all tried unsuccessfully to"
## [150] "prise it from the wall, the Prime Minister had abandoned the attempt"
## [151] "and simply resolved to hope that the thing remained motionless and"
## [152] "silent for the rest of his term in office. Occasionally he could have"
## [153] "sworn he saw out of the corner of his eye the occupant of the painting"
## [154] "yawning, or else scratching his nose; even, once or twice, simply"
## [155] "walking out of his frame and leaving nothing but a stretch of"
## [156] "muddy-brown canvas behind. However, he had trained himself not to look"
## [157] "at the picture very much, and always to tell himself firmly that his"
## [158] "eyes were playing tricks on him when anything like this happened.Then,"
## [159] "three years ago, on a night very like tonight, the Prime Minister had"
## [160] "been alone in his office when the portrait had once again announced the"
## [161] "imminent arrival of Fudge, who had burst out of the fireplace, sopping"
## [162] "wet and in a state of considerable panic. Before the Prime Minister"
## [163] "could ask why he was dripping all over the Axminster, Fudge had started"
## [164] "ranting about a prison the Prime Minister had never heard of, a man"
## [165] "named \"Serious\" Black, something that sounded like \"Hogwarts,\" and a"
## [166] "boy called Harry Potter, none of which made the remotest sense to the"
## [167] "Prime Minister.\"...I've just come from Azkaban,\" Fudge had panted,"
## [168] "tipping a large amount of water out of the rim of his bowler hat into"
## [169] "his pocket. \"Middle of the North Sea, you know, nasty flight... the"
## [170] "dementors are in uproar\"--he shuddered--\"they've never had a breakout"
## [171] "before. Anyway, I had to come to you, Prime Minister. Black's a known"
## [172] "Muggle killer and may be planning to rejoin You-Know-Who.... But of"
## [173] "course, you don't even know who You-Know-Who is!\" He had gazed"
## [174] "hopelessly at the Prime Minister for a moment, then said, \"Well, sit"
## [175] "down, sit down, I'd better fill you in... Have a whiskey...\"The Prime"
## [176] "Minister rather resented being told to sit down in his own office, let"
## [177] "alone offered his own whiskey, but he sat nevertheless. Fudge pulled"
## [178] "out his wand, conjured two large glasses full of amber liquid out of"
## [179] "thin air, pushed one of them into the Prime Minister's hand, and drew"
## [180] "up a chair.Fudge had talked for more than an hour. At one point, he had"
## [181] "refused to say a certain name aloud and wrote it instead on a piece of"
## [182] "parchment, which he had thrust into the Prime Minister's whiskey-free"
## [183] "hand. When at last Fudge had stood up to leave, the Prime Minister had"
## [184] "stood up too.\"So you think that...\" He had squinted down at the name in"
## [185] "his left hand. \"Lord Vol--\"\"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!\" snarled"
## [186] "Fudge.\"I'm sorry... You think that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is still"
## [187] "alive, then?\"\"Well, Dumbledore says he is,\" said Fudge, as he had"
## [188] "fastened his pin-striped cloak under his chin, \"but we've never found"
## [189] "him. If you ask me, he's not dangerous unless he's got support, so it's"
## [190] "Black we ought to be worrying about. You'll put out that warning, then?"
## [191] "Excellent. Well, I hope we don't see each other again, Prime Minister!"
## [192] "Good night.\"But they had seen each other again. Less than a year later"
## [193] "a harassed-looking Fudge had appeared out of thin air in the cabinet"
## [194] "room to inform the Prime Minister that there had been a spot of bother"
## [195] "at the Kwidditch (or that was what it had sounded like) World Cup and"
## [196] "that several Muggles had been \"involved,\" but that the Prime Minister"
## [197] "was not to worry, the fact that You-Know-Who's Mark had been seen again"
## [198] "meant nothing; Fudge was sure it was an isolated incident, and the"
## [199] "Muggle Liaison Office was dealing with all memory modifications as they"
## [200] "spoke.\"Oh, and I almost forgot,\" Fudge had added. \"We're importing"
## [201] "three foreign dragons and a sphinx for the Triwizard Tournament, quite"
## [202] "routine, but the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical"
## [203] "Creatures tells me that its down in the rule book that we have to"
## [204] "notify you if we're bringing highly dangerous creatures into the"
## [205] "country.\"\"I--what--dragons?\" spluttered the Prime Minister.\"Yes,"
## [206] "three,\" said Fudge. \"And a sphinx. Well, good day to you.\"The Prime"
## [207] "Minister had hoped beyond hope that dragons and sphinxes would be the"
## [208] "worst of it, but no. Less than two years later, Fudge had erupted out"
## [209] "of the fire yet again, this time with the news that there had been a"
## [210] "mass breakout from Azkaban.\"A mass breakout?\" repeated the Prime"
## [211] "Minister hoarsely.\"No need to worry, no need to worry!\" shouted Fudge,"
## [212] "already with one foot in the flames. \"We'll have them rounded up in no"
## [213] "time--just thought you ought to know!\"And before the Prime Minister"
## [214] "could shout, \"Now, wait just one moment!\" Fudge had vanished in a"
## [215] "shower of green sparks.Whatever the press and the opposition might say,"
## [216] "the Prime Minister was not a foolish man. It had not escaped his notice"
## [217] "that, despite Fudge's assurances at their first meeting, they were now"
## [218] "seeing rather a lot of each other, nor that Fudge was becoming more"
## [219] "flustered with each visit. Little though he liked to think about the"
## [220] "Minister of Magic (or, as he always called Fudge in his head, the Other"
## [221] "Minister), the Prime Minister could not help but fear that the next"
## [222] "time Fudge appeared it would be with graver news still. The site,"
## [223] "therefore, of Fudge stepping out of the fire once more, looking"
## [224] "disheveled and fretful and sternly surprised that the Prime Minister"
## [225] "did not know exactly why he was there, was about the worst thing that"
## [226] "had happened in the course of this extremely gloomy week.\"How should I"
## [227] "know what's going on in the--er--Wizarding community?\" snapped the"
## [228] "Prime Minister now. \"I have a country to run and quite enough concerns"
## [229] "at the moment without--\"\"We have the same concerns,\" Fudge interrupted."
## [230] "\"The Brock-dale Bridge didn't wear out. That wasn't really a hurricane."
## [231] "Those murders were not the work of Muggles. And Herbert Chorley's"
## [232] "family would be safer without him. We are currently making arrangements"
## [233] "to have him transferred to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies"
## [234] "and Injuries. The move should be effected tonight.\"\"What do you... I'm"
## [235] "afraid I ... What?\" blustered the Prime Minister.Fudge took a great,"
## [236] "deep breath and said, \"Prime Minister, I am very sorry to have to tell"
## [237] "you that he's back. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back.\"\"Back? When you"
## [238] "say 'back'... he's alive? I mean--\"The Prime Minister groped in his"
## [239] "memory for the details of that horrible conversation of three years"
## [240] "previously, when Fudge had told him about the wizard who was feared"
## [241] "above all others, the wizard who had committed a thousand terrible"
## [242] "crimes before his mysterious disappearance fifteen years earlier.\"Yes,"
## [243] "alive,\" said Fudge. \"That is--I don't know--is a man alive if he can't"
## [244] "be killed? I don't really understand it, and Dumbledore won't explain"
## [245] "properly--but anyway, he's certainly got a body and is walking and"
## [246] "talking and killing, so I suppose, for the purposes of our discussion,"
## [247] "yes, he's alive.\"The Prime Minister did not know what to say to this,"
## [248] "but a persistent habit of wishing to appear well-informed on any"
## [249] "subject that came up made him cast around for any details he could"
## [250] "remember of their previous conversations.\"Is Serious Black"
## [251] "with--er--He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?\"\"Black? Black?\" said Fudge"
## [252] "distractedly, turning his bowler rapidly in his fingers. \"Sirius Black,"
## [253] "you mean? Merlin's beard, no. Black's dead. Turns out we"
## [254] "were--er--mistaken about Black. He was innocent after all. And he"
## [255] "wasn't in league with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named either. I mean,\" he"
## [256] "added defensively, spinning the bowler hat still faster, \"all the"
## [257] "evidence pointed--we had more than fifty eyewitnesses--but anyway, as I"
## [258] "say, he's dead. Murdered, as a matter of fact. On Ministry of Magic"
## [259] "premises. There's going to be an inquiry, actually...\"To his great"
## [260] "surprise, the Prime Minister felt a fleeting stab of pity for Fudge at"
## [261] "this point. It was, however, eclipsed almost immediately by a glow of"
## [262] "smugness at the thought that, deficient though he himself might be in"
## [263] "the area of materializing out of fireplaces, there had never been a"
## [264] "murder in any of the government departments under his charge... Not"
## [265] "yet, anyway...While the Prime Minister surreptitiously touched the wood"
## [266] "of his desk, Fudge continued, \"But Blacks by-the-by now. The point is,"
## [267] "we're at war, Prime Minister, and steps must be taken.\"\"At war?\""
## [268] "repeated the Prime Minister nervously. \"Surely that's a little bit of"
## [269] "an overstatement?\"\"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has now been joined by"
## [270] "those of his followers who broke out of Azkaban in January,\" said"
## [271] "Fudge, speaking more and more rapidly and twirling his bowler so fast"
## [272] "that it was a lime-green blur. \"Since they have moved into the open,"
## [273] "they have been wreaking havoc. The Brockdale Bridge--he did it, Prime"
## [274] "Minister, he threatened a mass Muggle killing unless I stood aside for"
## [275] "him and--\"\"Good grief, so it's your fault those people were killed and"
## [276] "I'm having to answer questions about rusted rigging and corroded"
## [277] "expansion joints and I don't know what else!\" said the Prime Minister"
## [278] "furiously.\"My fault!\" said Fudge, coloring up. \"Are you saying you"
## [279] "would have caved in to blackmail like that?\"\"Maybe not,\" said the Prime"
## [280] "Minister, standing up and striding about the room, \"but I would have"
## [281] "put all my efforts into catching the blackmailer before he committed"
## [282] "any such atrocity!\"\"Do you really think I wasn't already making every"
## [283] "effort?\" demanded Fudge heatedly. \"Every Auror in the Ministry was--and"
## [284] "is--trying to find him and round up his followers, but we happen to be"
## [285] "talking about one of the most powerful wizards of all time, a wizard"
## [286] "who has eluded capture for almost three decades!\"\"So I suppose you're"
## [287] "going to tell me he caused the hurricane in the West Country too?\" said"
## [288] "the Prime Minister, his temper rising with every pace he took. It was"
## [289] "infuriating to discover the reason for all these terrible disasters and"
## [290] "not to be able to tell the public, almost worse than it being the"
## [291] "government's fault after all.\"That was no hurricane,\" said Fudge"
## [292] "miserably.\"Excuse me!\" barked the Prime Minister, now positively"
## [293] "stamping up and down. \"Trees uprooted, roofs ripped off, lampposts"
## [294] "bent, horrible injuries--\"\"It was the Death Eaters,\" said Fudge."
## [295] "\"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's followers. And... and we suspect giant"
## [296] "involvement.\"The Prime Minister stopped in his tracks as though he had"
## [297] "hit an invisible wall. \"What involvement?\"Fudge grimaced. \"He used"
## [298] "giants last time, when he wanted to go for the grand effect,\" he said."
## [299] "\"The Office of Misinformation has been working around the clock, we've"
## [300] "had teams of Obliviators out trying to modify the memories of all the"
## [301] "Muggles who saw what really happened, we've got most of the Department"
## [302] "for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures running around"
## [303] "Somerset, but we can't find the giant--it's been a disaster.\"\"You don't"
## [304] "say!\" said the Prime Minister furiously.\"I won't deny that morale is"
## [305] "pretty low at the Ministry,\" said Fudge. \"What with all that, and then"
## [306] "losing Amelia Bones.\"\"Losing who?\"\"Amelia Bones. Head of the Department"
## [307] "of Magical Law Enforcement. We think He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named may have"
## [308] "murdered her in person, because she was a very gifted witch and--and"
## [309] "all the evidence was that she put up a real fight.\"Fudge cleared his"
## [310] "throat and, with an effort, it seemed, stopped spinning his bowler"
## [311] "hat.\"But that murder was in the newspapers,\" said the Prime Minister,"
## [312] "momentarily diverted from his anger. \"Our newspapers. Amelia Bones..."
## [313] "it just said she was a middle-aged woman who lived alone. It was a--a"
## [314] "nasty killing, wasn't it? It's had rather a lot of publicity. The"
## [315] "police are baffled, you see.\"Fudge sighed. \"Well, of course they are,\""
## [316] "he said. \"Killed in a room that was locked from the inside, wasn't she?"
## [317] "We, on the other hand, know exactly who did it, not that that gets us"
## [318] "any further toward catching him. And then there was Emmeline Vance,"
## [319] "maybe you didn't hear about that one--\"\"Oh yes I did!\" said the Prime"
## [320] "Minister. \"It happened just around the corner from here, as a matter of"
## [321] "fact. The papers had a field day with it, 'breakdown of law and order"
## [322] "in the Prime Minister's backyard--'\"\"And as if all that wasn't enough,\""
## [323] "said Fudge, barely listening to the Prime Minister, \"we've got"
## [324] "dementors swarming all over the place, attacking people left, right,"
## [325] "and center...\"Once upon a happier time this sentence would have been"
## [326] "unintelligible to the Prime Minister, but he was wiser now.\"I thought"
## [327] "dementors guard the prisoners in Azkaban,\" he said cautiously.\"They"
## [328] "did,\" said Fudge wearily. \"But not anymore. They've deserted the prison"
## [329] "and joined He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I won't pretend that wasn't a"
## [330] "blow.\"\"But,\" said the Prime Minister, with a sense of dawning horror,"
## [331] "\"didn't you tell me they're the creatures that drain hope and happiness"
## [332] "out of people?\"\"That's right. And they're breeding. That's what's"
## [333] "causing all this mist.\"The Prime Minister sank, weak-kneed, into the"
## [334] "nearest chair. The idea of invisible creatures swooping through the"
## [335] "towns and countryside, spreading despair and hopelessness in his"
## [336] "voters, made him feel quite faint.\"Now see here, Fudge--you've got to"
## [337] "do something! It's your responsibility as Minister of Magic!\"\"My dear"
## [338] "Prime Minister, you can't honestly think I'm still Minister of Magic"
## [339] "after all this? I was sacked three days ago! The whole Wizarding"
## [340] "community has been screaming for my resignation for a fortnight. I've"
## [341] "never known them so united in my whole term of office!\" said Fudge,"
## [342] "with a brave attempt at a smile.The Prime Minister was momentarily lost"
## [343] "for words. Despite his indignation at the position into which he had"
## [344] "been placed, he still rather felt for the shrunken-looking man sitting"
## [345] "opposite him.\"I'm very sorry,\" he said finally. \"If there's anything I"
## [346] "can do?\"\"It's very kind of you, Prime Minister, but there is nothing. I"
## [347] "was sent here tonight to bring you up to date on recent events and to"
## [348] "introduce you to my successor. I rather thought he'd be here by now,"
## [349] "but of course, he's very busy at the moment, with so much going"
## [350] "on.\"Fudge looked around at the portrait of the ugly little man wearing"
## [351] "the long curly silver wig, who was digging in his ear with the point of"
## [352] "a quill. Catching Fudge's eye, the portrait said, \"He'll be here in a"
## [353] "moment, he's just finishing a letter to Dumbledore.\"\"I wish him luck,\""
## [354] "said Fudge, sounding bitter for the first time. \"I've been writing to"
## [355] "Dumbledore twice a day for the past fortnight, but he won't budge. If"
## [356] "he'd just been prepared to persuade the boy, I might still be... Well,"
## [357] "maybe Scrimgeour will have more success.\"Fudge subsided into what was"
## [358] "clearly an aggrieved silence, but it was broken almost immediately by"
## [359] "the portrait, which suddenly spoke in its crisp, official voice.\"To the"
## [360] "Prime Minister of Muggles. Requesting a meeting. Urgent. Kindly respond"
## [361] "immediately. Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic.\"\"Yes, yes, fine,\""
## [362] "said the Prime Minister distractedly, and he barely flinched as the"
## [363] "flames in the grate turned emerald green again, rose up, and revealed a"
## [364] "second spinning wizard in their heart, disgorging him moments later"
## [365] "onto the antique rug.Fudge got to his feet and, after a moment's"
## [366] "hesitation, the Prime Minister did the same, watching the new arrival"
## [367] "straighten up, dust down his long black robes, and look around.The"
## [368] "Prime Minister's first, foolish thought was that Rufus Scrimgeour"
## [369] "looked rather like an old lion. There were streaks of gray in his mane"
## [370] "of tawny hair and his bushy eyebrows; he had keen yellowish eyes behind"
## [371] "a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles and a certain rangy, loping grace even"
## [372] "though he walked with a slight limp. There was an immediate impression"
## [373] "of shrewdness and toughness; the Prime Minister thought he understood"
## [374] "why the Wizarding community preferred Scrimgeour to Fudge as a leader"
## [375] "in these dangerous times.\"How do you do?\" said the Prime Minister"
## [376] "politely, holding out his hand.Scrimgeour grasped it briefly, his eyes"
## [377] "scanning the room, then pulled out a wand from under his robes.\"Fudge"
## [378] "told you everything?\" he asked, striding over to the door and tapping"
## [379] "the keyhole with his wand. The Prime Minister heard the lock"
## [380] "click.\"Er--yes,\" said the Prime Minister. \"And if you don't mind, I'd"
## [381] "rather that door remained unlocked.\"\"I'd rather not be interrupted,\""
## [382] "said Scrimgeour shortly, \"or watched,\" he added, pointing his wand at"
## [383] "the windows, so that the curtains swept across them. \"Right, well, I'm"
## [384] "a busy man, so let's get down lo business. First of all, we need to"
## [385] "discuss your security.\"The Prime Minister drew himself up to his"
## [386] "fullest height and replied, \"I am perfectly happy with the security"
## [387] "I've already got, thank you very--\"\"Well, we're not,\" Scrimgeour cut"
## [388] "in. \"It'll be a poor lookout for the Muggles if their Prime Minister"
## [389] "gets put under the Imperius Curse. The new secretary in your outer"
## [390] "office--\"\"I'm not getting rid of Kingsley Shacklebolt, if that's what"
## [391] "you're suggesting!\" said the Prime Minister hotly. \"He's highly"
## [392] "efficient, gets through twice the work the rest of them--\"\"That's"
## [393] "because he's a wizard,\" said Scrimgeour, without a flicker of a smile."
## [394] "\"A highly trained Auror, who has been assigned to you for your"
## [395] "protection.\"\"Now, wait a moment!\" declared the Prime Minister. \"You"
## [396] "can't just put your people into my office, I decide who works for"
## [397] "me--\"\"I thought you were happy with Shacklebolt?\" said Scrimgeour"
## [398] "coldly.\"I am--that's to say, I was--\"\"Then there's no problem, is"
## [399] "there?\" said Scrimgeour.\"I... well, as long as Shacklebolt's work"
## [400] "continues to be... er... excellent,\" said the Prime Minister lamely,"
## [401] "but Scrimgeour barely seemed to hear him.\"Now, about Herbert Chorley,"
## [402] "your Junior Minister,\" he continued. \"The one who has been entertaining"
## [403] "the public by impersonating a duck.\"\"What about him?\" asked the Prime"
## [404] "Minister.\"He has clearly reacted to a poorly performed Imperius Curse,\""
## [405] "said Scrimgeour. \"It's addled his brains, but he could still be"
## [406] "dangerous.\"\"He's only quacking!\" said the Prime Minister weakly."
## [407] "\"Surely a bit of a rest... Maybe go easy on the drink...\"\"A team of"
## [408] "Healers from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries are"
## [409] "examining him as we speak. So far he has attempted to strangle three of"
## [410] "them,\" said Scrimgeour. \"I think it best that we remove him from Muggle"
## [411] "society for a while.\"\"I... well... He'll be all right, won't he?\" said"
## [412] "the Prime Minister anxiously.Scrimgeour merely shrugged, already moving"
## [413] "back toward the fireplace.\"Well, that's really all I had to say. I will"
## [414] "keep you posted of developments, Prime Minister--or, at least, I shall"
## [415] "probably be too busy to come personally, in which case I shall send"
## [416] "Fudge here. He has consented to stay on in an advisory capacity.\"Fudge"
## [417] "attempted to smile, but was unsuccessful; he merely looked as though he"
## [418] "had a toothache. Scrimgeour was already rummaging in his pocket for the"
## [419] "mysterious powder that turned the fire green. The Prime Minister gazed"
## [420] "hopelessly at the pair of them for a moment, then the words he had"
## [421] "fought to suppress all evening burst from him at last.\"But for heaven's"
## [422] "sake--you're wizards! You can do magic! Surely you can sort"
## [423] "out--well--anything!\"Scrimgeour turned slowly on the spot and exchanged"
## [424] "an incredulous look with Fudge, who really did manage a smile this time"
## [425] "as he said kindly, \"The trouble is, the other side can do magic too,"
## [426] "Prime Minister.\"And with that, the two wizards stepped one after the"
## [427] "other into the bright green fire and vanished."
## document TTR C R CTTR U S K
## 1 1 0.06927929 0.7783144 28.54702 20.18579 23.59159 0.8485098 69.92632
## I D Vm Maas lgV0 lgeV0
## 1 0.6864225 0.006986783 0.08311209 0.2058834 6.48301 14.92768
## document MATTR
## 1 1 0.5319574
deathly_hallows
RIP Charlie Weasley & Albus Dumbledore
## [1] "The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow,"
## [2] "moonlit lane. For a second they stood quite still, wands directed at"
## [3] "each other's chests; then, recognizing each other, they stowed their"
## [4] "wands beneath their cloaks and started walking briskly in the same"
## [5] "direction.\"News?\" asked the taller of the two.\"The best,\" replied"
## [6] "Severus Snape.The lane was bordered on the left by wild, low-growing"
## [7] "brambles, on the right by a high, neatly manicured hedge. The men's"
## [8] "long cloaks flapped around their ankles as they marched.\"Thought I"
## [9] "might be late,\" said Yaxley, his blunt features sliding in and out of"
## [10] "sight as the branches of overhanging trees broke the moonlight. \"It was"
## [11] "a little trickier than I expected. But I hope he will be satisfied. You"
## [12] "sound confident that your reception will be good?\"Snape nodded, but did"
## [13] "not elaborate. They turned right, into a wide driveway that led off the"
## [14] "lane. The high hedge curved into them, running off into the distance"
## [15] "beyond the pair of imposing wrought-iron gates barring the men's way."
## [16] "Neither of them broke step: In silence both raised their left arms in a"
## [17] "kind of salute and passed straight through, as though the dark metal"
## [18] "was smoke.The yew hedges muffled the sound of the men's footsteps."
## [19] "There was a rustle somewhere to their right: Yaxley drew his wand again"
## [20] "pointing it over his companion's head, but the source of the noise"
## [21] "proved to be nothing more than a pure-white peacock, strutting"
## [22] "majestically along the top of the hedge.\"He always did himself well,"
## [23] "Lucius. Peacocks ...\" Yaxley thrust his wand back under his cloak with"
## [24] "a snort.A handsome manor house grew out of the darkness at the end of"
## [25] "the straight drive, lights glinting in the diamond paned downstairs"
## [26] "windows. Somewhere in the dark garden beyond the hedge a fountain was"
## [27] "playing. Gravel crackled beneath their feet as Snape and Yaxley sped"
## [28] "toward the front door, which swung inward at their approach, though"
## [29] "nobody had visibly opened it.The hallway was large, dimly lit, and"
## [30] "sumptuously decorated, with a magnificent carpet covering most of the"
## [31] "stone floor. The eyes of the pale-faced portraits on the wall followed"
## [32] "Snape and Yaxley as they strode past. The two men halted at a heavy"
## [33] "wooden door leading into the next room, hesitated for the space of a"
## [34] "heartbeat, then Snape turned the bronze handle.The drawing room was"
## [35] "full of silent people, sitting at a long and ornate table. The room's"
## [36] "usual furniture had been pushed carelessly up against the walls."
## [37] "Illumination came from a roaring fire beneath a handsome marble"
## [38] "mantelpiece surmounted by a gilded mirror. Snape and Yaxley lingered"
## [39] "for a moment on the threshold. As their eyes grew accustomed to the"
## [40] "lack of light, they were drawn upward to the strangest feature of the"
## [41] "scene: an apparently unconscious human figure hanging upside down over"
## [42] "the table, revolving slowly as if suspended by an invisible rope, and"
## [43] "reflected in the mirror and in the bare, polished surface of the table"
## [44] "below. None of the people seated underneath this singular sight were"
## [45] "looking at it except for a pale young man sitting almost directly below"
## [46] "it. He seemed unable to prevent himself from glancing upward every"
## [47] "minute or so.\"Yaxley. Snape,\" said a high, clear voice from the head of"
## [48] "the table. \"You are very nearly late.\"The speaker was seated directly"
## [49] "in front of the fireplace, so that it was difficult, at first, for the"
## [50] "new arrivals to make out more than his silhouette. As they drew nearer,"
## [51] "however, his face shone through the gloom, hairless, snakelike, with"
## [52] "slits for nostrils and gleaming red eyes whose pupils were vertical. He"
## [53] "was so pale that he seemed to emit a pearly glow.\"Severus, here,\" said"
## [54] "Voldemort, indicating the seat on his immediate right. \"Yaxley ¨C"
## [55] "beside Dolohov.\"The two men took their allotted places. Most of the"
## [56] "eyes around the table followed Snape, and it was to him that Voldemort"
## [57] "spoke first.\"So?\"\"My Lord, the Order of the Phoenix intends to move"
## [58] "Harry Potter from his current place of safety on Saturday next, at"
## [59] "nightfall.\"The interest around the table sharpened palpably: Some"
## [60] "stiffened, others fidgeted, all gazing at Snape and Voldemort.\"Saturday"
## [61] "... at nightfall,\" repeated Voldemort. His red eyes fastened upon"
## [62] "Snape's black ones with such intensity that some of the watchers looked"
## [63] "away, apparently fearful that they themselves would be scorched by the"
## [64] "ferocity of the gaze. Snape, however, looked calmly back into"
## [65] "Voldemort's face and, after a moment or two, Voldemort's lipless mouth"
## [66] "curved into something like a smile.\"Good. Very good. And this"
## [67] "information comes ¨C \"\" ¨C from the source we discussed,\" said"
## [68] "Snape.\"My Lord.\"Yaxley had leaned forward to look down the long table"
## [69] "at Voldemort and Snape. All faces turned to him.\"My Lord, I have heard"
## [70] "differently.\"Yaxley waited, but Voldemort did not speak, so he went on,"
## [71] "\"Dawlish, the Auror, let slip that Potter will not be moved until the"
## [72] "thirtieth, the night before the boy turns seventeen.\"Snape was"
## [73] "smiling.\"My source told me that there are plans to lay a false trail;"
## [74] "this must be it. No doubt a Confundus Charm has been placed upon"
## [75] "Dawlish. It would not be the first time; he is known to be"
## [76] "susceptible.\"\"I assure you, my Lord, Dawlish seemed quite certain,\""
## [77] "said Yaxley.\"If he has been Confunded, naturally he is certain,\" said"
## [78] "Snape. \"I assure you, Yaxley, the Auror Office will play no further"
## [79] "part in the protection of Harry Potter. The Order believes that we have"
## [80] "infiltrated the Ministry.\"\"The Order's got one thing right, then, eh?\""
## [81] "said a squat man sitting a short distance from Yaxley; he gave a wheezy"
## [82] "giggle that was echoed here and there along the table.Voldemort did not"
## [83] "laugh. His gaze had wandered upward to the body revolving slowly"
## [84] "overhead, and he seemed to be lost in thought.\"My Lord,\" Yaxley went"
## [85] "on, \"Dawlish believes an entire party of Aurors will be used to"
## [86] "transfer the boy ¨C \"Voldemort held up a large white hand, and Yaxley"
## [87] "subsided at once, watching resentfully as Voldemort turned back to"
## [88] "Snape.\"Where are they going to hide the boy next?\"\"At the home of one"
## [89] "of the Order,\" said Snape. \"The place, according to the source, has"
## [90] "been given every protection that the Order and Ministry together could"
## [91] "provide. I think that there is little chance of taking him once he is"
## [92] "there, my Lord, unless, of course, the Ministry has fallen before next"
## [93] "Saturday, which might give us the opportunity to discover and undo"
## [94] "enough of the enchantments to break through the rest.\"\"Well, Yaxley?\""
## [95] "Voldemort called down the table, the firelight glinting strangely in"
## [96] "his red eyes. \"Will the Ministry have fallen by next Saturday?\"Once"
## [97] "again, all heads turned. Yaxley squared his shoulders.\"My Lord, I have"
## [98] "good news on that score. I have ¨C with difficulty, and after great"
## [99] "effort ¨C succeeded in placing an Imperius Curse upon Pius"
## [100] "Thicknesse.\"Many of those sitting around Yaxley looked impressed; his"
## [101] "neighbor, Dolohov, a man with a long, twisted face, clapped him on the"
## [102] "back.\"It is a start,\" said Voldemort. \"But Thicknesse is only one man."
## [103] "Scrimgeour must be surrounded by our people before I act. One failed"
## [104] "attempt on the Minister's life will set me back a long way.\"\"Yes ¨C my"
## [105] "Lord, that is true ¨C but you know, as Head of the Department of"
## [106] "Magical Law Enforcement, Thicknesse has regular contact not only with"
## [107] "the Minister himself, but also with the Heads of all the other Ministry"
## [108] "departments. It will, I think, be easy now that we have such a"
## [109] "high-ranking official under our control, to subjugate the others, and"
## [110] "then they can all work together to bring Scrimgeour down.\"\"As long as"
## [111] "our friend Thicknesse is not discovered before he has converted the"
## [112] "rest,\" said Voldemort. \"At any rate, it remains unlikely that the"
## [113] "Ministry will be mine before next Saturday. If we cannot touch the boy"
## [114] "at his destination, then it must be done while he travels.\"\"We are at"
## [115] "an advantage there, my Lord,\" said Yaxley, who seemed determined to"
## [116] "receive some portion of approval. \"We now have several people planted"
## [117] "within the Department of Magical Transport. If Potter Apparates or uses"
## [118] "the Floo Network, we shall know immediately.\"\"He will not do either,\""
## [119] "said Snape. \"The Order is eschewing any form of transport that is"
## [120] "controlled or regulated by the Ministry; they mistrust everything to do"
## [121] "with the place.\"\"All the better,\" said Voldemort. \"He will have to move"
## [122] "in the open. Easier to take, by far.\"Again, Voldemort looked up at the"
## [123] "slowly revolving body as he went on, \"I shall attend to the boy in"
## [124] "person. There have been too many mistakes where Harry Potter is"
## [125] "concerned. Some of them have been my own. That Potter lives is due more"
## [126] "to my errors than to his triumphs.\"The company around the table watched"
## [127] "Voldemort apprehensively, each of them, by his or her expression,"
## [128] "afraid that they might be blamed for Harry Potter's continued"
## [129] "existence. Voldemort, however, seemed to be speaking more to himself"
## [130] "than to any of them, still addressing the unconscious body above him.\"I"
## [131] "have been careless, and so have been thwarted by luck and chance, those"
## [132] "wreckers of all but the best-laid plans. But I know better now. I"
## [133] "understand those things that I did not understand before. I must be the"
## [134] "one to kill Harry Potter, and I shall be.\"At these words, seemingly in"
## [135] "response to them, a sudden wail sounded, a terrible, drawn-out cry of"
## [136] "misery and pain. Many of those at the table looked downward, startled,"
## [137] "for the sound had seemed to issue from below their feet.\"Wormtail,\""
## [138] "said Voldemort, with no change in his quiet, thoughtful tone, and"
## [139] "without removing his eyes from the revolving body above, \"have I not"
## [140] "spoken to you about keeping our prisoner quiet?\"\"Yes, m-my Lord,\""
## [141] "gasped a small man halfway down the table, who had been sitting so low"
## [142] "in his chair that it appeared, at first glance, to be unoccupied. Now"
## [143] "he scrambled from his seat and scurried from the room, leaving nothing"
## [144] "behind him but a curious gleam of silver.\"As I was saying,\" continued"
## [145] "Voldemort, looking again at the tense faces of his followers, \"I"
## [146] "understand better now. I shall need, for instance, to borrow a wand"
## [147] "from one of you before I go to kill Potter.\"The faces around him"
## [148] "displayed nothing but shock; he might have announced that he wanted to"
## [149] "borrow one of their arms.\"No volunteers?\" said Voldemort. \"Let's see"
## [150] "... Lucius, I see no reason for you to have a wand anymore.\"Lucius"
## [151] "Malfoy looked up. His skin appeared yellowish and waxy in the"
## [152] "firelight, and his eyes were sunken and shadowed. When he spoke, his"
## [153] "voice was hoarse.\"My Lord?\"\"Your wand, Lucius. I require your wand.\"\"I"
## [154] "...\"Malfoy glanced sideways at his wife. She was staring straight"
## [155] "ahead, quite as pale as he was, her long blonde hair hanging down her"
## [156] "back, but beneath the table her slim fingers closed briefly on his"
## [157] "wrist. At her touch, Malfoy put his hand into his robes, withdrew a"
## [158] "wand, and passed it along to Voldemort, who held it up in front of his"
## [159] "red eyes, examining it closely.\"What is it?\"\"Elm, my Lord,\" whispered"
## [160] "Malfoy.\"And the core?\"\"Dragon ¨C dragon heartstring.\"\"Good,\" said"
## [161] "Voldemort. He drew out his wand and compared the lengths. Lucius Malfoy"
## [162] "made an involuntary movement; for a fraction of a second, it seemed he"
## [163] "expected to receive Voldemort's wand in exchange for his own. The"
## [164] "gesture was not missed by Voldemort, whose eyes widened"
## [165] "maliciously.\"Give you my wand, Lucius? My wand?\"Some of the throng"
## [166] "sniggered.\"I have given you your liberty, Lucius, is that not enough"
## [167] "for you? But I have noticed that you and your family seem less than"
## [168] "happy of late ... What is it about my presence in your home that"
## [169] "displaces you, Lucius?\"\"Nothing ¨C nothing, my Lord!\"\"Such lies Lucius"
## [170] "... \"The soft voice seemed to hiss on even after the cruel mouth had"
## [171] "stopped moving. One or two of the wizards barely repressed a shudder as"
## [172] "the hissing grew louder; something heavy could be heard sliding across"
## [173] "the floor beneath the table.The huge snake emerged to climb slowly up"
## [174] "Voldemort's chair. It rose, seemingly endlessly, and came to rest"
## [175] "across Voldemort's shoulders: its neck the thickness of a man's thigh;"
## [176] "its eyes, with their vertical slits for pupils, unblinking. Voldemort"
## [177] "stroked the creature absently with long thin fingers, still looking at"
## [178] "Lucius Malfoy.\"Why do the Malfoys look so unhappy with their lot? Is my"
## [179] "return, my rise to power, not the very thing they professed to desire"
## [180] "for so many years?\"\"Of course, my Lord,\" said Lucius Malfoy. His hand"
## [181] "shook as he wiped sweat from his upper lip. \"We did desire it ¨C we"
## [182] "do.\"To Malfoy's left, his wife made an odd, stiff nod, her eyes averted"
## [183] "from Voldemort and the snake. To his right, his son, Draco, who had"
## [184] "been gazing up at the inert body overhead, glanced quickly at Voldemort"
## [185] "and away again, terrified to make eye contact.\"My Lord,\" said a dark"
## [186] "woman halfway down the table, her voice constricted with emotion, \"it"
## [187] "is an honor to have you here, in our family's house. There can be no"
## [188] "higher pleasure.\"She sat beside her sister, as unlike her in looks,"
## [189] "with her dark hair and heavily lidded eyes, as she was in bearing and"
## [190] "demeanor; where Narcissa sat rigid and impassive, Bellatrix leaned"
## [191] "toward Voldemort, for mere words could not demonstrate her longing for"
## [192] "closeness.\"No higher pleasure,\" repeated Voldemort, his head tilted a"
## [193] "little to one side as he considered Bellatrix. \"That means a great"
## [194] "deal, Bellatrix, from you.\"Her face flooded with color; her eyes welled"
## [195] "with tears of delight.\"My Lord knows I speak nothing but the truth!\"\"No"
## [196] "higher pleasure ... even compared with the happy event that, I hear,"
## [197] "has taken place in your family this week?\"She stared at him, her lips"
## [198] "parted, evidently confused.\"I don't know what you mean, my Lord.\"\"I'm"
## [199] "talking about your niece, Bellatrix. And yours, Lucius and Narcissa."
## [200] "She has just married the werewolf, Remus Lupin. You must be so"
## [201] "proud.\"There was an eruption of jeering laughter from around the table."
## [202] "Many leaned forward to exchange gleeful looks; a few thumped the table"
## [203] "with their fists. The giant snake, disliking the disturbance, opened"
## [204] "its mouth wide and hissed angrily, but the Death Eaters did not hear"
## [205] "it, so jubilant were they at Bellatrix and the Malfoys' humiliation."
## [206] "Bellatrix's face, so recently flushed with happiness, had turned an"
## [207] "ugly, blotchy red.\"She is no niece of ours, my Lord,\" she cried over"
## [208] "the outpouring of mirth. \"We ¨C Narcissa and I ¨C have never set eyes"
## [209] "on our sister since she married the Mudblood. This brat has nothing to"
## [210] "do with either of us, nor any beast she marries.\"\"What say you, Draco?\""
## [211] "asked Voldemort, and though his voice was quiet, it carried clearly"
## [212] "through the catcalls and jeers. \"Will you babysit the cubs?\"The"
## [213] "hilarity mounted; Draco Malfoy looked in terror at his father, who was"
## [214] "staring down into his own lap, then caught his mother's eye. She shook"
## [215] "her head almost imperceptibly, then resumed her own deadpan stare at"
## [216] "the opposite wall.\"Enough,\" said Voldemort, stroking the angry snake."
## [217] "\"Enough.\"And the laughter died at once.\"Many of our oldest family trees"
## [218] "become a little diseased over time,\" he said as Bellatrix gazed at him,"
## [219] "breathless and imploring, \"You must prune yours, must you not, to keep"
## [220] "it healthy? Cut away those parts that threaten the health of the"
## [221] "rest.\"\"Yes, my Lord,\" whispered Bellatrix, and her eyes swam with tears"
## [222] "of gratitude again. \"At the first chance!\"\"You shall have it,\" said"
## [223] "Voldemort. \"And in your family, so in the world ... we shall cut away"
## [224] "the cancer that infects us until only those of the true blood remain"
## [225] "...\"Voldemort raised Lucius Malfoy's wand, pointed it directly at the"
## [226] "slowly revolving figure suspended over the table, and gave it a tiny"
## [227] "flick. The figure came to life with a groan and began to struggle"
## [228] "against invisible bonds.\"Do you recognize our guest, Severus?\" asked"
## [229] "Voldemort.Snape raised his eyes to the upside down face. All of the"
## [230] "Death Eaters were looking up at the captive now, as though they had"
## [231] "been given permission to show curiosity. As she revolved to face the"
## [232] "firelight, the woman said in a cracked and terrified voice, \"Severus!"
## [233] "Help me!\"\"Ah, yes,\" said Snape as the prisoner turned slowly away"
## [234] "again.\"And you, Draco?\" asked Voldemort, stroking the snake's snout"
## [235] "with his wand-free hand. Draco shook his head jerkily. Now that the"
## [236] "woman had woken, he seemed unable to look at her anymore.\"But you would"
## [237] "not have taken her classes,\" said Voldemort. \"For those of you who do"
## [238] "not know, we are joined here tonight by Charity Burbage who, until"
## [239] "recently, taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.\"There"
## [240] "were small noises of comprehension around the table. A broad, hunched"
## [241] "woman with pointed teeth cackled.\"Yes ... Professor Burbage taught the"
## [242] "children of witches and wizards all about Muggles ... how they are not"
## [243] "so different from us ...\"One of the Death Eaters spat on the floor."
## [244] "Charity Burbage revolved to face Snape again.\"Severus ... please ..."
## [245] "please ...\"\"Silence,\" said Voldemort, with another twitch of Malfoy's"
## [246] "wand, and Charity fell silent as if gagged. \"Not content with"
## [247] "corrupting and polluting the minds of Wizarding children, last week"
## [248] "Professor Burbage wrote an impassioned defense of Mudbloods in the"
## [249] "Daily Prophet. Wizards, she says, must accept these thieves of their"
## [250] "knowledge and magic. The dwindling of the purebloods is, says Professor"
## [251] "Burbage, a most desirable circumstance ... She would have us all mate"
## [252] "with Muggles ... or, no doubt, werewolves ...\"Nobody laughed this time."
## [253] "There was no mistaking the anger and contempt in Voldemort's voice. For"
## [254] "the third time, Charity Burbage revolved to face Snape. Tears were"
## [255] "pouring from her eyes into her hair. Snape looked back at her, quite"
## [256] "impassive, as she turned slowly away from him again.\"Avada Kedavra\"The"
## [257] "flash of green light illuminated every corner of the room. Charity"
## [258] "fell, with a resounding crash, onto the table below, which trembled and"
## [259] "creaked. Several of the Death Eaters leapt back in their chairs. Draco"
## [260] "fell out of his onto the floor.\"Dinner, Nagini,\" said Voldemort softly,"
## [261] "and the great snake swayed and slithered from his shoulders onto the"
## [262] "polished wood. "
## document TTR C R CTTR U S K
## 1 1 0.06315087 0.7735053 28.09376 19.86529 23.38448 0.8459407 77.42249
## I D Vm Maas lgV0 lgeV0
## 1 0.5151213 0.007737235 0.0875342 0.2067932 6.464036 14.88399
## document MATTR
## 1 1 0.5286795
| ngram_ttr | when | what |
|---|---|---|
| 0.58 | 1 | deathly_hallows |
| 0.58 | 2 | deathly_hallows |
| 0.58 | 3 | deathly_hallows |
| 0.59 | 4 | deathly_hallows |
| 0.58 | 5 | deathly_hallows |
| 0.58 | 6 | deathly_hallows |
Row bind (merge) the three MATTR dataframes for each novel and plot them
## 'data.frame': 1081016 obs. of 3 variables:
## $ ngram_ttr: num 0.49 0.49 0.49 0.49 0.488 0.49 0.49 0.49 0.49 0.49 ...
## $ when : int 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ...
## $ what : Factor w/ 6 levels "sorcerers_stone",..: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ...
Well, what can we say?
bravo